Background Info

I have judged for high school debate tournaments for 10 years, and genuinely enjoy doing so. LD is by far my favorite event, because it is so beautifully structured, and requires significant thought and preparation and analysis.

In my day job, I'm a lawyer, but not a courtroom litigator. I'm not impressed by snarky CX strategies or ad hominem attacks during rebuttals. Your goal during CX & rebuttals is either to clarify information provided or to poke holes in your opponent's arguments, not to show off how clever you think you are. If you are in fact very clever, it will be evident to me based on your questions and arguments during the round.

Approach

I am a traditional flow judge. This should be a value debate. I want there to be a good clash, and I want each debater to have sufficient contentions to support his or her chosen VP/VC (so a kritik will probably turn me off). The evidence should be legitimate, and it should link to the contentions and then up to the VP/VC/resolution without me having to twist my brain sideways to figure out the links. Don't spoon feed me, but DO make sure it's addressed in your framework, because I won't assume a link exists if you don't mention it during the round.

The number of contentions is less important to me than the strength and validity of each one. It's possible to argue a winning case with only two contentions instead of nine, as long as they're well-researched and well-presented with great links to your value structure.

Also - even though I'm flowing your arguments, it's not an all-or-nothing round based on the flow. I'm definitely NOT persuaded by a debater who says "well, my opponent dropped my 4th contention so that argument carries through the debate and therefore I win the entire round" - because maybe your 4th contention was so worthless your opponent didn't see any need to waste time refuting it (for example). My point is, you won't lose just because you fail to rebut every single point your opponent makes; and you won't win just because your opponent fails to rebut every single point you raise. I'm flowing your cases, but my decision for each round is not limited ONLY to the specifics of the flow.

You will impress me much more with quick-thinking analysis of and response to your opponent's arguments than with a well-written constructive case (although the latter should be a given at this level of competition). I am not, on the other hand, going to be at all impressed by esoteric theoretic non-topical pollutificationism (although it can be entertaining, it won't win you the round).

I am able to understand extremely fast speech as long as you articulate your words clearly and remember to breathe. That said, IF YOU SPREAD - I WILL PROBABLY DROP YOU.

I am generally a flow judge and can follow fast paced debate.

Framework should be established and followed throughout the round. Tell me why your framework is superior and back up your claim with evidence in contentions. If there is no framework debate, the round will rely on weighing evidence in contentions.

Contentions should be clearly stated with supporting evidence and analysis. Your evidence should be fully explained and analyzed as to its impact on the debate. I prefer evidence be referred to by subject/topic throughout the round rather than simply the author's name. Know your evidence well enough defend it in cross-examination.

Your case should be organized, focused and come to a reasonable conclusion that convinces me to vote in your favor. Failure to communicate the importance of evidence, weighing values and impacts, or extending key arguments may result in a loss.

I look for a solid flow of argument in a debate round. Is the moral value clear? Is there a clear Contention? Are the contentions backed by facts that come from credible sources and do they circle back to the value? I like to flow when I judge so I also watch to make sure no new contentions are brought into the argument during the final rebbuttles. I also look for good facts to back up contentions to make their argument strong.

I look to see if the students are professional and respectful to each other during Cross X and allow each other to speak.

I am just a parent judge, but I have judged LD & PFD for 5 years now and this year (2020) would be my third time judging for the National Tournaments.

For the 2020 National Tournament conducted virtually, the first and foremost thing you should know is about the speed of your delivery. While I don't use speed of delivery as a factor in judging and really have no problem with spreading in face-to-face judging, please keep in mind that neither your $0.5 built-in laptop microphone nor typical network latency favors a fast delivery. If your words get distorted or lost during the transmission, I simply cannot understand you or follow the flow of your argument. Slower, but clear and precise, delivery works much better in this virtual format. If possible, you should test your video and audio setup when you are scrimmaging with your peers before the tournament.

As far as judging paradigm, I am pretty traditional and general audience type. For LD, I know the different philosophies, but I still expect a short and clear description when you say utilitarianism like any general audience adult would like. I am looking for a complete and comprehensive rationale, so please clearly tell me why your value weighs more, when measured/evaluated based on your criterion, demonstrated by your contentions and evidence, than your opponent's.

If you are a PFD competitor reading this because I end up in PFD judge pool, my PFD judging methodology is basically the same. Since most teams are basically using the same framework, if you want to invoke slightly different criterion, you are expected to explain and help your judge orient to your way of weighing things, even though for me I can probably guess pretty easily what you are trying to say since I have judged both LD and PFD.

Other than that, I don't really have any specific requirement or expectation. Maybe keep in mind to not just try to discredit/throw your opponent's evidence and forget to actually attack the argument. LD is typically better than PFD on this because there's a frame work debate element, but sometimes when you have the same framework as your opponent's this still happens.

• Seven years experience mostly debate (Congressional, LD, PF).
• Comfortable with speed and jargon in debate but prefer that students that speak clearly and not rush through a script.
• Value students who have prepared for the debate and can demonstrate civility in their interactions with other students.

I am a parent judge of LD. I have judged regularly since 2018.

Please do not spread. Do not attempt to speak quickly. Do not present opinions as fact and please have references for unusual positions. I expect a calm rational argument based on fact and logic. I accept that some conclusions are speculative and cannot be based entirely on current conditions.

Yes you may time yourself, I will be timing as well and I do mark down for going over allotted time.

Don't spread.

Be nice.

I am a very traditional judge.

Want to win?

Convince me of your value and criterion. Then show me that your side better upholds that criterion. Impact back to the criterion. Signpost. No spreading please.

Poems amuse, but do not convince.

Interpretive dance does not convince either, but will result in an automatic +1 speaker point.

When possible, quote Nietzsche.

Hi! I debated LD for Ardrey Kell, graduating in 2018, both traditional and circuit debate. I'm a recent grad from UNC-Chapel Hill with a background in statistics & business, and I currently work in technology consulting. I (generally) know what I'm doing, but I haven't been involved in debate for a while now. Please keep this in mind when choosing your style and strategy! My email is juliannesinclair@gmail.com if you need it to send cases/evidence.

• I'm not opposed to spreading, but I don't feel confident in my ability to understand extremely high levels of speed being out of debate for such a long time. However, you can speak at a very quick conversational pace in front of me, especially if you are using speed for effective argument coverage.

• In a traditional round, read whatever you'd like! I'll use the V/VC debate in my decision, but I honestly care more about the topic-specific arguments you make. Please don't make me hear a debate on morality vs. justice as a value - it's not going to sway my decision! Consider how important the framework debate is in relation to both cases; winning FW isn't always necessary to win the debate.
• Please weigh arguments throughout the round, not just in the 2AR!
• I'm all good with topical Ks, policy arguments, and any traditional arguments.
• I'm probably not the judge to read theory in front of. Or tricks. I simply don't have the background to evaluate these debates.
• I also don't really have the background to be evaluating a very dense phil debate. I do enjoy unique frameworks, but I'm gonna need some extra background if it's not something that would be taught in Philosophy 101.
• Humor executed well will raise your speaks. Snarkiness can be great, but do not be mean to your opponent, especially if they are less experienced than you.
• On a similar note - do not read progressive arguments to confuse a less experienced / traditional opponent. I'm totally fine evaluating progressive debate arguments, but the round should be educational and fair for everyone involved.
• If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me before the round! :)

(this paradigm was written with the assistance of my son)

Hi! I am a parent judge who has been judging here and there for the last 1 year. I am a typical lay judge and thus, adjust your arguments and style as such.

Speed: Don't spread, don't talk fast. I know all you "flow" kids are groaning rn, but chill out fam.

Rhetoric: Rhetoric matters to some extent, but as long as you can get the arguments across to me, from your brain to my flow, you're fine.

Extending: Any arguments you want me to vote on must have cleanly been extended throughout the entire round. Don't tell me to vote off of any args that you didn't make/extend previously.

If both debaters are equal in my "lay" eyes, I will probably vote off of speaking style and persuasiveness.

I am a parent judge and have only judged a few times at traditional tournaments in North Carolina in PF and LD. Do not spread – I cannot flow speed. Avoid excessively dense philosophy. I have no experience with any progressive debate and likely won’t understand it. Good evidence and clear explanation are key.

I am a parent judge and have judged LD in a couple of tournaments the past two years. I have no experience with any progressive debate and likely won’t understand it. In evaluating rounds, I prefer arguments that are coherent and well-articulated.