Experienced Judge who competed in Public Forum and LD in High School as well as Congress and Extemp.

I am also the Assistant Forensic Coach and Congress coach at a local HS.

I was the captain of National Extemp at our school. At the time I was in high school our district sent 20+ people to nationals and our school sent many debaters to nationals annually.

I keep track of flow and expect debaters to have a debate and not just read cases.

I do appreciate K's if done well

really like good cross examination and cross fire!

Have judged at many tournaments in Colorado, WI and TOC

In Congress I expect you to make this a debate with qualified information and knowledge of the bill. I expect you to be an engaged member of congress and ask questions. I prefer congress participants to reference the specifics in the bill instead of general discussion.

I highly emphasize the speeches and conversation to be delivered in an extemporaneous type style, you should be prepared, but if you are clearly just reading a speech with no discussion or debate I will ding you for that.

As a former Presiding Officer, I do value a very well-organized session. PO's are critical to a smooth-running session, and I do consider PO to be a leadership role in session and that is reflective in my rankings, if you are a good PO you are appreciated by all and allow the highest number of student speeches which is hopefully the goal for all.

I was a PF debater in high school, have been judging for years and have recently started coaching.

PF: I am a flow judge and like to see a clean line-by-line in rebuttal. Be sure you are not only responding to the argument your opponents' present but also the impact. Tell me why they can't access their impact in rebuttal. In summary, you should begin tying up any loose ends and begin to weigh. Tell me why your opponents can't access their impacts or why your impacts are bigger and better. Lives are a good default impact that is easy to compare. Final focus should be almost entirely voters. Give me 2 or 3 good reasons why I should vote for you. Don't make final focus a mini rebuttal. A good final focus does go over the entire round or every argument. Only focus on what you think you're winning. In terms of framework, unless one is proposed by either team I will default to util. In summary and final focus, tell me how your arguments/impacts align with the framework and why your opponents aren't meeting the framework.

LD: I have less experience in LD but will be able to follow more complex arguments. Be sure to talk about impacts explicitly and how they align to your value and criterion. Focus on the topic at hand, not the nature of debate or how your opponent is debating, except if they are being discriminatory. I am a flow judge through and through. Spend time developing clear answers to values and impacts that your opponent brings up and counter any arguments brough up against your case. A lot of LD arguments can become convoluted so take time to be clear so I have a clear understanding of what you are trying to say.

Speed: I can understand speed, but the faster you talk the less I will write down. As a flow judge, talking incomprehensibly or too fast could be detrimental to your success in the round.

Roadmaps: I won't time your roadmaps as long as you identify them as roadmaps before you start talking. Keep them brief. Don't waste time by saying that the order will be con then pro during first rebuttal. If you are going to talk about specific arguments identify those in your roadmap.

Also if it sounds like you can't breath, you're talking too fast.

Overall: Be civil. Don't yell at your opponents, partner or me.

Email: hansend@fortschools.org

Notes about all format paradigms:This round is absolutely NOT all about you. Those judges are not doing you any favors because that is NOT how the world works. This activity is all about adapting to the judge. So read the below if you want to win. Also, I'll get right to it instead of any ego-driven list of where I debated or what I won or who coached me. That's either arrogant or lazy or an inside privileged allusion to some natcircut elitism. You'll have to read actual things.

PF Paradigm: I grew up debating and coaching policy. Now, I've been coaching and judging PF debate for many years now, so I'm not a policy judge out of water, so to speak. I just probably have policy tendencies in the back of my head and I think it's only fair to admit that. Regardless of whether the PF topic is a policy-like topic or one that is an "on balance" issue, I'm looking at teams to show "two worlds". What does the world of the pro look like vs the world of the con? That kind of comparison is very influential in my decisions.

BUT - I was always a dinosaur in the policy pool. So take almost nothing else from that. For example, my policy background also tends to make some PF debaters believe I love counterplans in PF. I have to say I struggle with them here. Showing me an example of what the world you're defending looks like is great. Adopting a limited plan that means you're not really defending the entire resolution? I have a hard time justifying that in this division of debate. Ethical/kritikal ground is fine and some resolutions lend themselves to it more than others; just keep in mind some K ground requires so much depth to win that you're going to be hard pressed for time in this format.

I'm 100% fine with frameworks. I don't want to see the debate get to a super-technical policy debate fight on this, but it's often a very influential part of the round.

I am aware that PF speed exists. It shouldn't. The core of PF was that it could be judged by the "average educated citizen" and I love that about this division. Policy speed killed policy debate in my area. I left the division for a reason.

Source indicts are valid; I'm not sure why judges dismiss them so quickly. Clearly they work best when opposed with a quality source of your own.

Truth > Tech because we already live in a society where truth means far too little. I'm not contributing to that.

RANTS:

I will time you. I seriously cannot comprehend judges that are too lazy or claim they just can't be bothered to do so. It's my job and I'm doing it. Feel free to time along, but mine are right.

Ethics? Important. Theory run to get a cheap win? Offensive. If you don't even know the difference between content and trigger warnings (and only know the sadly underinformed circuit norm)...don't. Happy to discuss this to educate those who are interested.

Don't lie. Claiming "they dropped X" when I have multiple responses on my sheet is at minimum a drop in speaker points. Likely you lose that argument entirely.

Did you read the part about speed earlier? Do so.

Finally, I like a good, competitive round, but debate should never be obnoxious or rude.

Policy Paradigm -I profess to have a n old-school PURE policy paradigm. What the heck does that mean? Look up the strict definition of policy paradigm from awhile back, and you will read that policy meant a judge sat in the back and voted for what he/she felt was the best policy for the United States. In other words, they used the voting lense of the president. EVERYTHING you do in my round should be argued under that approach; I am a president. Not specifically any president, just a hypothetical president. I am NOT asking you to perform and call me the president or anything like that. I'm just so old now that I have to define the paradigm of policymaking or people don't know what it means anymore. Enough of the overview; below is the line by line. (Oh, and failure to adapt is a huge reason teams lose. I mean what I say.)

Speed - Don't. Yes, because you have time constraints, you'll have to speak faster than you really would in front of the president. I'll bend that much. You still wouldn't argue auctioneer-style. Go with this guide - if you think you might be too fast, you are. Depth, not amount, is going to sway my decision. No amount of "but they didn't counter the six T-blips we fired off in the first two minutes of our 1NC" is going to help you...because I am not going to get them all down. You respect the office or you don't get an audience with the president. And this is a speaking competition; I won't read the speech doc and do your work for you.

Topicality - You might think this can't be argued, but it can. If, as president, I hired two teams of advisors to debate what I should do on a topic, and one of them did something besides what I hired them to argue, I'd fire them. In the case of the round, I drop them. It also means that if the other side isn't really non-topical, resist just showing off your silly squirrel definition. I am by far more of a "story T" judge than a "technical T" judge. Tell me the abuse story (in-round or potential) and explain a small number of good theory points. More is not better.

DAs and advantages - Clearly, the president has to be concerned about nuclear war. But to suggest to him that everything leads there? You'd be quickly dismissed and given an ambassadorship to someplace not so nice. This goes for both sides. Go there and all the other team has to do is spend 20 seconds showing how poor the logic is and your impact goes away. I like real impacts because I am trying to (fictitiously) decide real policy. On politics DAs, don't worry about am I this president or xo=bad or anything like that. I'm not delusional. I know I'm not the president, and I'm not trying to artificially limit your ground. Run the Trump good or Trump bad or whatever. The only thing I will not allow is a DA that destroys affirmative fiat. So, no “you spend capital to pass plan” DAs. However, “reaction” DAs, even those that involve political capital, are obviously very important.

CPs - Absolutely, within the framework. Tell me we should let China do it; we should consult the EU first, etc. You must keep the CP non-topical and competitive however. I hired two teams of COMPETING advisors, not lobbyists who will each sell me their own aff plan.

K - Be selective. Kritiks that function in the real world with policy alternatives are great. The president absolutely should care about the moral underpinnings of the Aff case or neg counterplan. They don't always, but I will. On the other hand, if the American people will laugh me out of office for rejecting a good idea because of some bizarre solipsistic construction a strung-out philosopher dreamed up, I'm not voting on it.

"Performance" I'm trying to do what's best for our country ON THE RESOLUTION. If your performance makes the resolution tangential, it isn't going to get my ballot. If you're creative, you can show how the president could be helpful in nearly any kritikal affirmative, even one about the debate round itself. You just need to tie it to the paradigm. Also see the comments on non-realistic K above.

Things I'm frustrated about currently: 1.Teams that just say "On the X Flow" and then read a card. I have seven cards on that flow. Where do you want me to put it? I'm not going to do your work for you. 2. Perms. You don't just get to throw out one-sentence perms, do nothing else, then make them a 5 minute rebuttal. If I don't understand how the perm functions after the 2AC, I'm not voting on it. It's the same with a K alt - fair ground, folks.

Finally, the president is a busy man. You do your arguing and don't expect me to do it for you by calling for all your cards at the end of the round. If you didn't make it clear enough, I guess you didn't consider it a very important point for me to consider. I'll only call for cards that are disputed in the round if I need to see them to make a decision.

January 2021 edition

Paula’s Paradigm

Salutations Debaters!

Please remember that one of the primary goals for competitive debate is engaging in civil discourse. As a judge, the first criteria I evaluate is civility. Debaters who demonstrate courtesy, good will, and generosity of spirit perform more effectively.

I expect a fair and honest debate from all competitors. Please consider what fair and honest means: If you are an experienced debater and you are running a K or CP, especially against a novice debater, you are not engaging in fair and honest debate. Ks and CPs are complex devices intended for Policy Debate. If you apply them to an LD round you are changing the category rules in such a way that disfavors an opponent who has prepped for an LD round. If you plan on running a K or CP, my suggestion is you keep a back-up case in the ready AND prior to the round, you confirm that both your judge and your opponent are comfortable with you running a Policy device. If one of those answers is no, run your back-up case. I reiterate, if you run a Policy device without disclosing it to both your opponent and your judge you are not engaging in fair and honest debate. Please do not conflate pre-round courtesy with disclosure theory.

On running counterplans and kritiks: Since these are strategies devised for Policy Debate and not as conducive for LD, they should be carefully crafted and run sparingly. That being said, I welcome a creative take on the resolution in the form of a counterplan or kritik. Bear in mind that I must be able to weigh the round with compatible parameters so if you do run a counterplan or kritik you must clearly define how the round is to be framed so your opponent may adequately respond to your case and I have enough criteria for evaluation. Counterplans must contain both an explicit values structure and CP framework. Kritiks must apply a primary line of argumentation originating in critical theory or cultural criticism. Please note: Ks and CPs place unnecessary burdens on the negative case that the neg must fully accommodate. I will not expect an opponent to refute complicated devices intended for Policy Debate without being provided the structural parameters to do so. Therefore, the burden for structurally framing the round falls on the Neg when running Ks and CPs.

Disclosure Theory: The ability to think quickly on your feet (adapting to your opponent during the round) is one of the most important skills a debater can cultivate and will be weighed more heavily than prepping out before a round. I won't judge against a debater who has chosen not disclose on the NDCA or any other wiki. Any time spent arguing on disclosure grounds (or out-of-round concerns) will be regarded as time that could have been better spent responding to what is happening in the round.

Another point to consider with fair and honest debating is intimidation. Please don’t confuse clash, meaningful offense or attacking an opponent’s case with aggressiveness or badgering during a round. Know that spreading in all its various forms is an intimidation tactic and that I consider spreading an equity and inclusion matter. If you are a fair and honest debater, then you cannot simply assume your opponent can accommodate lightning pace. Please be advised: Speed reading will heavily impact speaker points in a negative direction in addition to potentially losing the round.

If you are a speedy reader, but not intentionally spreading, modulate your pace. If I do not catch your framework due to unintelligibility or lack of clarity related to speed you may lose the round since I cannot adequately weigh your case against your opponent’s. I will not interrupt your speech to ask you to slow down. My expectation is a conversational pace.

Please be mindful of the debate format in which you are competing. If you are a Lincoln-Douglas competitor your primary goal is to engage in the realm of ideas, not policy. If the resolution leans heavily toward a policy topic, the best debaters will devise a case which is philosophical and reflective. When judging an LD round, I’m listening for original thinking, insightful analysis, logical reasoning, and summary skills.

I pay very close attention during cross-examination for strategic maneuvering that will allow a competitor to control the trajectory of the debate.

If you and your opponent craft similar frameworks (e.g, the same value or value criterion), please do not tell me “it is a wash.” Weighing frameworks is never a wash. Framework components do not cancel each other out. Argue your position with analysis and reasoning in order to identify why your case better meets the V/VC and by extension, the resolution.

If your value is morality, tell me what kind of morality and why it is the most suitable choice in the context of the resolution. Please don’t use circular reasoning - “because morality means my value criterion is good” or pretense such as “I choose morality because it encompasses all other values.” Simply reverting to the notion that the word “ought” in the resolution implies a moral imperative suggests that the debater has not spent much time researching the resolution in order to understand its assumptions and implications. When I evaluate a case framework, I am looking for depth suggestive of a debater who is wrestling with the ideas embedded within the resolution.

Do reiterate your impacts throughout every phase of the debate, but bear in mind that (for me) extremist impacts like extinction, nuclear war and planetary disaster are less important to the impact calculus as thoughtful and well-developed impacts germane to the resolution and your chosen framework. In other words, I will be swayed by impacts that are expressed through a philosophical line of inquiry or reasoned through in a way that reveals the most significant issues inherent within the resolution.

I will favor the debater who accurately summarizes evidence, evaluates it, contextualizes it, and most importantly, provides analyses that are both cogent and eloquent. Please take care that you do not mistake your evidence for your own original analysis. Be very careful of how you cut cards so the bulk of your case consists of your own reasoning and your own thoughts about the resolution rather than reading through your sources (reiterating someone else’s ideas). A helpful tip for developing your case and presenting it: think in outline terms so you are constantly summarizing your evidence, your case, your opponent’s case, and your refutations.

Do outline your voting issues, but be wary of getting mired in the minutiae of technicalities that reduce the round to a “gotcha” game. Do not assume that the judge flows in the same way a competitor does. Be mindful of simplistic, but common errors like an unanswered point is equivalent to conceding that point. Technically speaking, in an LD debate round, it is not. If your opponent drops an argument, it is an opportunity for you to expound upon your own position with respect to that point. Signpost your refutations and avoid assertions like "My opponent dropped "X" argument, so you can "disregard it" or "flow that point to my side." Not every argument can be answered during the round. The best debaters will strategically choose which arguments are the most important ones to address. While clash is important, maximizing meaningful clash lucidly, concisely, and succinctly will likely win the debate. Represent your opponent's position accurately and do not claim that an opponent has dropped an argument if your opponent has not.

Economic arguments: All too often economic arguments take some form of: “X is too expensive because it costs Y.” This really isn’t a sound argument. An economic argument of quality should demonstrate some notion of economic theory to justify it rather than simply assuming economics itself is neutral. Be aware that modern economic theory originated in 18th century moral philosophy. All economic arguments should be purposeful and grounded in theoretical or philosophical principles. A case with primarily economic argumentation should be placed within an economic framework (structured into the value/value criterion). I am generally unpersuaded by economic impacts or assumptions that government spending or taxation is bad. The very purpose of the government is to tax and spend. Your goal in an LD round is to provide reasons for why the government (We the People) should tax or spend.

When judging PF I look for teamwork and collaboration -- how argumentation is extended between the two speakers and how well they complement each other. As in LD, I’m looking for excellent organization and critical analysis that addresses the resolutional “pith.” PF teams, please consider the LD issues noted above concerning technical minutiae, original thinking, sophisticated casing, and argumentation that is both sound and valid. I’m looking for original analysis and reasoning through the issues inherent in the resolution. One of my primary concerns in PF is crossfire. Please demonstrate the highest courtesy during crossfire. The team that can establish civil discourse during this phase of the debate will likely be favored in the event of a tie. Maintaining civility during crossfire will help the debater(s) control how the debate is framed for the judge.

As in LD, thinking in outline terms so you are constantly summarizing your evidence, your case, your opponent’s case, and your refutations is essential for PF competition. Develop a few significant arguments with scholarly evidence rather than a large number of arguments so you can effectively utilize the limited time in a PF round. Varsity PF debaters — I look for seamless interaction between team members, the ability to crystallize key points, and to concisely summarize the logical components of an argument.

If I am your judge, please feel free to ask for clarification of any matter addressed in my paradigm.

Happy Day!

Paula Jones

Head Coach, Speech & Debate

Golda Meir High School

I spend the majority of tournaments in the tabroom. In 2015-2016, for example, I judged only one round. As a result, if I'm in the back of the room, I will be a bit of a fish out of water and likely something is going wrong with the world. I'm old and judge with an old-school philosophy. Make sense, explain your evidence and treat everyone with civility.

TL;DR: I'm cool with whatever as long as you understand it and explain it so that I do too. If you run something complex and don't explain it well, that's your fault because I won't understand it either. I've got a decent background with progressive debate so it should be fine, but if it's super philosophical pls explain it well. I don't particularly like theory or t unless there's a valid reason for running it. Don't run anything offensive or I'll automatically drop you. Provide a trigger warning (if needed) out of respect for everyone in the round. Speed is fine.

put me on the email chain!: kmperez555@gmail.com

Background: I debated for Golda Meir for four years in LD. I am a current student at UW-Madison majoring in Legal Studies and Chicane/Latine Studies, with certificates in Public Policy and Criminal Justice. My debate experience ranges from local circuit to national circuit tournaments. I've judged a multiple of tournaments, so please treat me like any other past debater! I don't judge that frequently anymore so I might ask what the resolution is.

General In-Round Things:

Speed: Speed is fine. Slow down on tags and anything else important that you really want on my flow. I'll say clear as much as I can. Be mindful and do it with purpose.

Framework: You should have at least some form of it. Whether that's a value/value criterion or a role of the ballot, there should be something telling me from what lense I should look at for what you're saying. If you end up running a very philosophical fw, articulate it well for me in round. Do not just say that both of your fw's are a wash, that's not true. You still need to evaluate it and stress it within case.

Theory/T: I'll evaluate it only if I need to and only if there is something inherently abusive in round. Don't just run it because you think its fun or want to do for time constraints. I'm not a big fan of T but if it's necessary I'll evaluate it!

Kritiks: These are great, but be sure to explain it well for me especially if it is super philosophical/technical or out of the box. Be sure to tell me how the alt solves!

Performance: I have not heard this in a long time, but I love this! Explain in round impacts clearly!

Plans/CPs/PICS: I'll listen to them but I just don't there is enough time to really go through it. I'll vote for it but you have to do a really good job at explaining why the rest is bad/how the resolution is a worse alternative. I think CPs only work if there's a plan but I will evaluate them!

DAs: These are great, but just be clear and explain in round impacts well!

Other things: Clear voters. Tell me exactly what I need to vote on and why. Please and I can not stress this enough but please tell me why your impacts matter and weigh them throughout the round, not just at the end. Tell me why your competitor's world is innately bad. Don't just extend your warrants but explain to me why they matter in your world or how you do it better than your opponents world. If I had to evaluate the round on my own and you leave room for me to analyze it, then it puts a ton of work on my end, so please weigh everything.

Miscellaneous:

- I typically time each speech but I do forget so please time yourselves. Open prep is fine with me as long as both debaters agree with it.

- I don't really care whether you sit or stand in round unless it's like an elim round. If its a virtual tournament, I have no preference for having your cameras on. Do what's most comfortable to you.

- I love when competitors clash especially during CX, so just generally clash but don't be rude about it. It will ruin your speaks if you are out-right rude to your opponent.

- I will listen to outrageous (out of the box cases) and I find them fun. So if you are willing to do it and take the risk, go for it!

- Any -phobias or -isms will absolutely not be tolerated. You'll get the lowest speaks I can give and I'll automatically drop you. Debate is meant to be inclusive, not hurtful.

- I'll give you pretty high speaks unless you're rude or offensive. Just don't be a dick please especially when competing with opponents that have a lower skill difference.

- Have fun. If you have any questions or comments, please email me! (same one as above)

Congressional Debate

TL;DR: I value the overall content of the speech and your points, rather than the quality. However, since it is a Speech activity, I do like it when debaters are very clear about their points following a long list of extensions as to why one should or should not be able to pass/fail a particular bill. It provides a ton of clash! Don't run or say anything offensive, or I'll give you the lowest speaks I can give! Any further questions, just ask me before session!

P.F.

The biggest thing is to debate P.F., don't treat it like policy. Please be clear about when you are switching contentions and be sure to weigh your impacts clearly, don't assume that us judges are making the same connections that you are. If you run a one contention case, please have strong links. Please spell out your impacts, Imperialism isn't an impact, you need to tell me why imperalism is bad. As a judge I won't let my background influince my decision, but that does meen you need to tell me exactly what your impacts meens in terms of qountifiable impacts, number of deaths, cost of monye, increce in crime, global destabilisation, that kind of thing.

Congress:

I've been judging Congress for 6 years now, and of course, all the basic things are important: good projection, good variation in vocal tone and volume for emphasis, and most importantly, a cohesive, original argument. In addition, please be respectful of your competitors; assertive speech styles are fine, but avoid ad hominem attacks. Similarly, when asking questions, don't interrupt the answerer when they haven't even finished a sentence yet; again, find the line between assertive and just plain rude. Make sure your introduction doesn't have a jarring shift in tone when compared to the rest of your speech. Lots of people enjoy funny intros, but they don't really work if you give a speech about war crimes, for example. Crystalizing is good, but if you have an entire speech that's just crystalizing, you end up with something that is more like 6 30-second long speeches instead of a single 3-minute speech, so don't go overboard with it. Make sure if you use the same arguments as a previous speaker, you do something new with it, or go in greater depth in a specific aspect of the argument. Otherwise, all you're doing is telling the judges that you thought the previous speaker did a really good job.

A smaller thing, but it still bugs me when it happens, please don't use debate lingo in congress when it doesn't make grammatical sense without a debate background, for example "sqo solves" is not something that makes sense unless you do debate and this isn't the place for that.

Email: Oscarh.rich@gmail.com

Experience: 4 years (2015-2019) competing in LD + Congress at Wisconsin locals, NSDA/NCFL's, and on the national circuit. This is my second year judging LD.

Conflicts: Brookfield East

larp > trad/phil > Ks > theory > tricks

-I'm basically the same age as you, so definitely just call me Arjun (pronounced AR-juhn, if you need some help here you go). I use he/him pronouns.

-Read whatever you'd like! As long as doing so doesn't create an unsafe debate space for your opponent, make the arguments that you enjoy most. I'm most familiar with phil/larp/trad literature, but definitely don't let that stop you from running k args if that's what you're passionate about. I'll vote on tricks if substantiated, but definitely will not extend the unwarranted 3 second apriori at the end of your constructive.

-Assuming clarity, I'm comfortable flowing up to around this speed. Any more than that and I'm probably missing some important stuff. I'll yell clear/slow if need be.

-That being said, please use your best judgement to adjust to the conditions of the round; don't read your most complicated 5 offs at 400 wpm against a novice at their first tournament. I won't drop you for not doing so, but my frustration will be reflected in your speaker points.

-WEIGH EARLY WEIGH OFTEN

-I have a relatively high threshold for extensions; I need to hear a clearly articulated warrant before it goes on my flow. "Extend contention 1" isn't enough.

-Please don't go over time! Don't wait till after your timer goes off to give voters.

-I average around a 28 for speaks. The more good things you do the higher above that you'll go: collapsing in the 2NR/2AR, doing literally anything with framework, giving clear win conditions, getting big concessions in cx etc.

-Please please please use good evidence!!!! It feels like with every passing year our standards drop and cards get sketchier. I'll be very happy if you have full citations on all pieces of evidence and will give you a somewhat arbitrary nonzero bump in speaks.

Hit me up with questions via email: arjunshreekumar@gmail.com, text: 262-347-5599, messenger, ig, snap, whatever floats your boat.

Looking forward to meeting y'all in round :)

I debated in the Wisconsin and national circuits for 3 years in LD. That being said, it's been four years since I last debated and 2 years since I last judged. I'm a little rusty with progressive so try sticking to lay cases - however I won't fault you if you feel the need to run a progressive case.

Attitude:

Be aggressive, not rude. I think this is obvious.

Timing:

I expect you to time yourselves and make sure you're sticking to the limits. I'll be keeping track of your prep time and will confirm how much you have left. Be wise.

Argumentation:

Don't bring up new arguments in the 2AR or 2NR, but you should know this.

If you're making non-topical/untopical arguments, I'll stop flowing.

Don't forget impacting - this will help show the magnitude of your arguments (mostly important when you have similar frameworks).

That being said, don't drop framework, especially if it's different to your opponent's. It's hard to vote for a debater who can't argue their case within FW. (I also really like seeing unique frameworks, not just regular util, but you need to make it work well)

Cases:

Email me your cases so I can follow along: tariknavya@gmail.com

Like I said earlier, it's best if you stick to traditional cases but I'm fine with Kritiks and CPs. (please make sure they're good though)

Don't be abusive.

Speaking:

Speak fast if you want, don't slur your words though.

You can spread, but don't do it just to get an upper hand for no reason. If you're being a jerk - auto drop.

If you're incomprehensible, I'll let you know max 2 times to fix it.

Language:

If you're being homophobic, racist, sexist, xenophobic, etc, I'll auto drop you.

Decisions:

You can give me about 5 to 10 minutes after a round to make my decision. I will disclose and give you the RFD - this is going to be constructive criticism that I hope will help you in the following rounds.

Good luck in the round, and may the best debater win!

I'm a retired attorney, and this is my 13th year of involvement with debate, congressional debate, and forensics. My undergraduate and master's work were in critical reviewing applied to artistic performance disciplines. My professional life has been devoted to framing arguments, crafting refutation arguments and determining the appropriate criteria for evaluation of virtually any type of presentation. I'm a kind and thoughtful person whose main goal is for you to hone skills and become a confident, logical and gracious person.

My life as a lawyer absolutely shapes my approach as a debate judge. I expect the Aff to define the parameters of the debate, and the Neg to attack those ideas DIRECTLY; the proverbial "clash of ideas." I long for the day when the Neg accepts the Aff's framework and beats them on those terms. A distinct v/vc should be woven into the Neg arguments, but should not be presented like a script. The debate should not look like two people giving side-by-side presentations. Aff frames/defines; Neg reacts and refutes. You can guess from this that I am not a big fan of kritiks when the Neg spends too much time on a presentation that does not actively engage. The goal is to be flexible and nimble with what is thrown at you in the moment. I expect the argument to narrow as the debate goes along which may mean you must jettison arguments that aren't getting traction. I disfavor new arguments in summation. Please remember that new arguments are disallowed in rebuttals, but new evidence is not.

I intensely dislike "spreading" because it is a dishonest approach to the debate. I do not believe debate is a card game where the person who jams more ideas/cites more cards into the time period wins, and/or wins hoping the opponent "dropped' something. Dropping an argument is not a point scored on a ledger. It is an opportunity to argue the point from your perspective.

Spreading negatively impacts your opponent’s ability and my ability to absorb your arguments. I can't evaluate arguments that I can’t properly follow. I will caution you if you are speaking too fast. Repeatedly if I have to. But at some point, if you don't adjust, it will impact your speaker points. The most important things to me are the quality and depth of your presentation. You don't have gobs of time to play with so impress me with your reasoning. Please don't cite a card that you don't discuss or are unprepared to defend. Depth and quality rule with me. Accordingly, I do not use a traditional "flow sheet" and I really don't want your written case. I reward people who are fast on their feet.

I do not permit "flex time" and view it as a sneaky way to obtain more cross-x time than permitted. And speaking of cross-x, it should not be an occasion to engage in a discussion/mini debate with your opponent. I will caution you if you step over that line. Cross-x is meant for pointed clarifying questions and allowing your opponent to respond to your queries. If he or she doesn't reply to your satisfaction, then use it in your rebuttal.

I'm okay with counterplans providing the CP does not monopolize the first Neg speech by disallowing enough time for the first negative rebuttal. Counterplans must be shaped in a way that targets the Aff framework.

I am weary of overly-used frameworks like morality/util and unsound impacts like “morality doesn’t matter if we’re dead.” I look for a fresh, creative lens to view the resolution/impacts. I appreciate creativity that addresses real world concerns. Your value and criterion should not be a means to an easy win. It should reflect how deeply you’ve thought about the resolution. We're not all going to die tomorrow. What can we do in the meantime to improve our lot? That takes more intellectual prowess to tackle and is more impressive to me.

Finally, I expect debaters to be kind and gracious. I place high priority on good sportsmanship. Debaters who are kind and gracious will find higher speaker points. I will step in to caution debaters who are rude or unkind to opponents. I expect debaters to understand that everyone is doing the best they can, and that our circumstances and resources are often very different. So, I expect you to meet your opponent “where they are” not where you expect them to be.

Best of luck and best wishes to all.