Pronouns: she/her ♀️

Email: nalan0815@gmail.com,

Please also include: damiendebate47@gmail.com

I debated policy debate for 3 years in high school 2008-2011 and have judged for 10+ years now.

I REALLY like to see impact calculus - "Even if..." statements are excellent! Remember: magitude⚠️, timeframe⏳️, probability ⚖️. I only ever give high speaker points to those that remember to do this. This should also help you remember to extend your impacts, and compare them with your opponent's as reasons for a judge to prefer your side.

• However, I don't like when both sides keep extending arguments/cards that say opposite things without also giving reasons to prefer one over the other. Tell me how the arguments interact, how they're talking about something different, etc.
• Be sure to extend arguments (especially your T voters) even if they're uncontested - because that gives me material for the reason for decision. If it's going to be in your last speech, it better be in the speech before it (tech > truth here). Otherwise, I give weight to the debater that points it out and runs theory to block it from coming up again or applying.

------------------------- Miscellaneous ----------------------------

Prep and CX: I do not count emailing /flashdriving as prep time unless it takes ~2+ minutes. Tag-team cross-ex is ok as long as both teams agree to it and you're not talking over your partner. Please keep track of your speech and prep time.

Full disclosure: Beyond the basic K's like Cap, Security, Biopow, Fem, etc., I'm not familiar with unique K's, and especially where FrameWork tends to be a mess, you might need a little more explanation on K solvency for me or I might get lost.

I often read along to the 1AC and 1NC to catch card-clipping, even checking the marked copies.

Little bit about myself: multiple NDT qualifier, nationally traveled debater collegiately for 5 years in college, been involved with debate for the last 10-11 years, coached several high school teams, and coached collegiate policy teams. I am trained in policy, so if I am judging your round and you do LD or Parli I am going to default to how I have been trained, which is policy. Recently finished my masters and am looking at different JD programs so I am not as emerged in the topic as I would typically be. 

I hate paperless, but love technology: I am only 26, but I guess that means I am old.  When cx ends your prep time begins. When you say you are done prepping you need to be ready to start speaking (not saving to a jump drive or organizing your flows). If there is an issue in the debate that means we should deviate from this norm I will tell you, not the other way around. Do not waste time playing with each other’s flash drives, I won't be thrilled. Try to look up every once and while. It will help your speaker points. Prep stops when the other team has the jump drive. 

Framework: If circular claims about predictability and fairness are how you roll, I am probably not the judge for you. If framework is based on comparative claims which construct the importance of differing roles for the judge/debate/space, I am fine for you. I am voting on whom convinces me does the better debating at the end of the round. 

Topicality: I lean a little aff here on question of reasonability and “most limited” vs. “best/reasonable limit”, but as with any argument, the burden to do the debating is on you, don’t assume you can blow it off and wait for me to conclude in your favor on reasonability.

Disads: They are cool; even better if they are intrinsic.

Critiques: These are the arguments I know the most about. I am familiar with most critical literature. I will do my best to exclude my background knowledge from affecting my decision. Just because I know a lot about criticisms does not mean you should go for the argument. Don't adapt to me, just be yourself. There is a much better chance that you will do better playing the game you're ready for rather than trying to do something that you think* I want to hear. The more specific the link to the affirmative the better your argument will be. This also applies to affirmative answers to the author the negative is using. I do not think the aff has a right to a permutation on a criticism. This does not mean the aff cannot justify one, but that is where I start.

Counterplans: They're cool. The more specific the better like most arguments in debate. 

Please be comprehensible: I will not tell you to be clear, but I will be staring at you with a puzzled look which will probably mean to slow down so you are understandable. I’m pretty much willing to listen to whatever debate you prefer to have (K, policy, Other). You’re better off doing what you’re good at than trying to adjust to what you think I want to hear.

Making fewer, smarter args: Typically you will get you farther than speeding through some unexplained "more evidence". Impact assessment and evaluation of the debate in the last rebuttals are important. Oh and there is such a thing as zero risk of a link.

Debaters argue; evidence does not: If you just list 35 authors, I will not read your cards. I do not want to read your cards. Persuade me. It is a speaking activity. Read and say what you want. Its your debate so own it. That being said, I don¹t enjoy listening to debates in which gendered/racist/ableist language and so on is used. At the very least your speaker points will probably be effected.

Random Thoughts: I am trained to judge naturally off the flow, unless told otherwise. I do think rules exist in debate: speech times etc. These rules do not set restrictions on content or curriculum. All of these things are up to the debaters. Im not stranger to K on K debates or traditional vs K debates. Typically, I am not in traditional vs traditional debates (except in high school). 

Judges I model after: Izak D., Luis M., Toni N., Jon B., Dan F., Pointer, Ode, Symonds, Sarah, Joel R., Amber K, Hester and obviously Jack E. 

Questions? Email me at: Marvin.carterjr@gmail.com

Warm regards,

mc

Matt Filpi
Gonzaga Debate 2013-2017

***Disclaimer updated for Jesuit 2020***

I am now out of debate. I have not judged a debate in 2+ years. I am a 3rd year law student at the University of Oregon School of Law. I also have not judged a debate on this topic. If you have an ultra specific strategy that you would like to go for, I am absolutely okay with that - however, you may need to do some more explaining of a specific argument in front of me than you might in front of a judge that has be involved in topic research since the summer. Thank you!


Macro Issues

Speaking: Please remember that debate, at it's core, is a communicative activity. It’s important to remember that speed isn’t measured in words read per minute, it’s measured in ideas successfully communicated per minute.

Speaker points: They are influenced by a number of things. These include: clarity, ability to communicate effectively, cross examination, your strategy, level of preparation, and execution among other things.

Evidence: I appreciate evidence comparison. The highlighted portion of your cards should make complete arguments, not just claims. If you mark a card during your speech, you need to be able to tell me and the other team where you marked it.

Micro Issues

Framework/What the aff should do: The aff should be related the topic in some way. I will be persuaded by topicality arguments against affs that completely ignore the topic. If you feel that being forced to defend institutions is bad/violent in some way, I am totally open to affs without a plan text (although I would still prefer if your aff is tangentially related to the topic). For the negative in these debates, you should be making framework arguments about the method used in the 1AC; not simply going for theoretical framework arguments.

Topicality (in policy debates): I evaluate topicality based on the arguments made in the debate. This means that I will not decide a T debate based off of what I think is topical/not topical. If you win the argument, you will win the debate, regardless of my opinion of what should/should not be topical.

Kritiks/Identity Arguments: There needs to be clash. I have seen far too many of these rounds that seem like two ships passing in the night. DISCLAIMER: I have a high threshold for explanation of alternatives. If you are going to go for the kritik, please extend your alternative explicitly, and explain to me how it resolves the links that you have identified. If you do not and you still wish to win the debate, you need to give me a reason why criticizing the aff is sufficient without an alternative.

Counterplans: I tend to think counterplans need to be both textually and functionally competitive. That is not to say that I will automatically disregard them, however, I will be persuaded by theory arguments pointing out why functional and textual competition are good and important.

Disads: I prefer the status quo over most neg strategies. In my opinion, it creates the most clash between the aff and the neg and makes for the best debates. If you choose to take this route, make sure that you have sufficient defense to the affs impacts, and do comparative impact analysis to make my job easy in evaluating whether or not the DA outweighs the case.

If you have any specific questions before the round starts feel free to ask me. If you have any questions about things that happened in your round after the tournament also feel free to email me - mfilpi2@gmail.com