UPDATED 2/21/20: I do not judge as often as I may once have. At most local events, I find myself on the operations side of a tournament.

That should not terrify you – I am a career public servant, who happens to coach debate because I appreciate everything that it taught me as a student. You should assume that I approach debate rounds this way: what is the best decision I can make given the information presented to me?

It may sound old-fashioned, but I do not wish to be on any email chains. I have sadly witnessed teams answering entire disadvantages not read by their opponents simply because they were included in said distribution. Not to be outdone, I have read ballots where judges voted on evidence that nobody read. I pledge to keep the best flow I can. If I need to see a piece of evidence, and the particular league or tournament's rules allow for that, I will call for it.

If you are short on time reading this, my paradigm can be expressed in six (6) words: do your thing and be nice. If you are really short on time, we can go with four (4): old guy, still flows.

Policy:

1. Speed is fine, but clarity is necessary. I cannot vote on what I do not have typed/written down. I try hard to listen to the text of the evidence presented;
2. Open cross-examination is acceptable, but if it is clear than one member of the team is not able to participate at the same level, speaker points will suffer;
3. My preference is tabula rasa; in the absence of any alternative framework, I look first to any potential violation(s) of stock issues and then default to a policymaking perspective.

Lincoln Douglas:

1. I do not mind an LD round that gets on down the flow;
2. My preference is tabula rasa; in the absence of any alternative framework, I will default to a whole resolution lens looking first to the value/value criterion debate.

Public Forum/Speech:

1. Nothing earth-shattering here. I am less speed tolerant in public forum and I will simply apply the ballot criteria to whatever speech event is at hand.

Regardless of event, we enter the debate knowing the resolution and some basic rules of the road (e.g., speech times, likely printed on the ballot). By tabula rasa I mean that the debaters establish the framework for evaluating debates. You should do what you do best and do it well. Arguments should have three parts – a claim, a warrant, and some sort of greater implication regardless of your style.

I still believe that good decisions should flow like water. Great rebuttals frame debates and clash wins rounds. My ballots will provide a succinct RFD, possibly pointing out either strengths or opportunities for improvement as we progress through the speeches. 3AR/3NR oral critiques nauseate me: what I say out loud (if disclosure is permitted) will almost certainly match what I am placing on your ballot. Your coach should see comments too. You did not go to the dentist; my RFD is never going to read “oral.”

Finally, be respectful of your partners, opponents, and judges. I have zero tolerance for poor behavior in debate rounds.

I am a lay judge - make sense and I vote for you :).

Be kind and have a great debate.

Try not to spread because I won't be able to flow. If you don't see me flowing, you're probably going too fast.

Hello! My email is mosieburkebdl@gmail.com - Please add me to the chain!

I debated for six years, high school and middle school, in the Boston Debate League for Boston Latin Academy, attending national circuit tournaments for four of those six years. I graduated from Haverford College in 2021 with a degree in Philosophy and a minor in Statistics, and wrote a thesis offering Deleuzian (and related) readings of data visualizations. I received a Master's in Accounting/MBA from Northeastern University in 2022 (despite loving the Cap K).

I began coaching the Boston Debate League's Travel Team, which is composed of teams from multiple schools in the Boston area, in Fall 2022. I coached for Boston Collegiate Charter School during the 2021-2022 season.

Short version:

-I lean K, and I will know your K's lit base. This increases your burden to explain your theory well, and I will not do theoretical work for you in my RFD

-I was a 1N who took T in 95% of my 1NRs and I will understand and appreciate your tricks

-Evidence comparison will get you much farther than 15 new 1nr cards

-Solid development on the case pages gets great results

-Speed and tons of off-case positions are okay. Read the important warrants in your cards.

-I'm not the judge for your condo 2AR, though i'm sure it's great, no really

-This paradigm has not been adapted for virtual debate, but I will gladly answer any questions about how this applies to virtual debate

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As of the 2024 Urban Debate National Championship, I have judged 8 tournaments on the fiscal redistribution topic including outrounds on the national circuit. I actively coach and write arguments of all styles on the fiscal redistribution topic.

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Full paradigm:

***I follow NSDA guidelines for evidence violations, including card clipping and misrepresentation of evidence, in the absence of guidance from tournament admin***

Style:

Speed is fine. Card-speed and non-card-speed should be different. If you blast through 8 arguments in 15 seconds, I won't get them all, it won't be my fault, and I don’t want to get post-rounded because I didn’t catch that they dropped the 6th of 8 2AC permutations. Don't bury your best arguments!

Strong, direct CX is great! (However:)

Don't be cruel, disrespectful, or belittling. This is especially true if you are more experienced/knowledgeable than the other team. If you're a senior with 4 years of national circuit experience and 3 summers of camps, don't be a jerk to sophomores at their first varsity tournament. This doesn't mean you should go easy, it means that you should take your opponents and their arguments seriously.

K (and K affs):

I am well-versed in a bunch of K literature (and you should ask if you'd like to know about my familiarity with your specific K author), but that doesn't mean you don't have to explain things. Pedagogically, it's important to communicate the theoretical nuances you're using to make your arguments. “Ontology means we win” isn’t a complete argument, even though I know how to connect those dots.

I am sympathetic to arguments about ivory tower positions/armchair philosophy. I debated in a UDL, on a small team, and in a program that often lacked funding. Don't aim to win arguments by virtue of your opponents not having the resources to engage them. If you do this, you're causing direct harm to the activity and to fellow debaters, and that's an impact scenario I am happy to vote on.

Performance is 100% fine by me. If you incorporate a performance as part of your aff's methodology, I will evaluate is as I would any other methodology - so please incorporate it in later speeches and make sure I know why it's important to relevant perm/framework/T/etc debates.

T:

I was a 1N, and there wasn't a single neg block my senior year where I didn't take the T flow. I LOVE good T debates, and this is where all of your clever tricks will be appreciated. Make strategic concessions, go hard on "they don't meet the counter-interp", do fun things with internal links. Defense usually won't win by itself.

Compare interp evidence! This comparison can win you debates. 90% of interpretation evidence sucks enough to give the aff the edge on reasonability.

RVI arguments on these flows won't win you any rounds.

Theory:

If it's a time suck and it works, nice job.

I am rarely a judge where the 2AR should go for theory, and I’m a particularly hard sell on conditionality bad.

I think the neg gets to run multiple conditional advocacies with the exception of abusive cross-application of offense between contradictory positions.

I default to reject the argument, unless you have very strong reasons I should reject the team.

FW vs K Affs:

Run it well. You should have good reasons why your interpretation matters. Fairness is an impact.

Don't throw in arguments about "small schools" to get the moral high ground if you don't care about accessibility absent a ballot, please :)

DAs:

Links are almost always a sliding scale as opposed to Yes/No. How much of a link is there? How does that effect the impact debate?

"We win on magnitude so vote Aff" is not impact calc, nor is it an argument.

CPs:

I was not a counterplan debater and I’m probably a little behind the times on whatever tricky counterplan strategies have made their way into the meta, so give me the more detailed versions of why those arguments solve. Give me warranted sufficiency framing starting in the Block, please.

The likelihood of a PIC 2NR winning is proportional to the scale of the link to the net benefit.

Please slow down on the warrants and impact debate for counterplan theory debates.

Alt cause arguments on case > re-cutting aff solvency evidence to make a PIC to solve alt causes

Case:

Yes please. I don’t need lengthy overviews or underviews. Strive to put more on the case debate against K affs than state good.

Hey my name is Michael, email: mcasas1289@yahoo.com

Experience; 3 years of High School POLICY debate ( University High School )

PLEASE TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THAT I AM A POLICY JUDGE WHO JUST BEGAN JUDGING LD

Rutgers University - Newark

EXPLAIN what I should vote for you and make it clear. Once you make your point MOVE ON, please don't repeat yourself.

Organize your arguments. Line-Line is nice too.

Spreading is acceptable but be clear. I will call out clear when you are unclear TWICE. After that, I will just stop writing.

i dont like severance affs

I'm pretty liberal so you can any type of argument as long as you can convince me

Critical Affs are cool, explain why we should start with your point and their impacts. (framing preferred with K Aff's)

All Neg Strats are acceptable but please present them clearly so i know when you're starting a new argument.

Theory is beautiful but make it clear to the judge.

Procedural Fairness over all unless you fail to show me it is.

Here is my email for the email chain:

Williamc0402@gmail.com

Here is my short biography for you to know who I am:
Hi, my name is William. I finished a PhD in German at NYU. My focus was on literature, critical theory, and to some extent black studies.
As for debate experience, I used to debate for CUNY debate in college for 4 years, reading critical arguments in the Northeast. I won a handful of regional tournaments and broke at CEDA. I also coach for Brooklyn Technical High School (sometimes we sign up at Brooklyn Independent). I have been coaching there for 8 years and have had my debaters make it far in national tournaments as well as qualify for the TOC a bunch. Because I work with Brooklyn Tech (a UDL school), I am also connected to the NYCUDL.

Here is the start of my paradigm:
As everyone else says, rule of thumb: DO WHAT YOU’RE GOOD AT
Whether your go-to strat is to throw stuff at the wall and hope it sticks, a straight up disad/cp, or a one-off K; I will be more than happy to judge your round…
given that you:

1) Have a claim, warrant, and impact to every argument. It isn’t an argument absent these three elements, and I will have some trouble adjudicating what you’ve said.
2) Properly explain your positions—don’t make an assumption that I know you the abbreviations you use, the specific DA scenario you're going for (perhaps fill me in on the internal link chains), or the K jargon you're using. Help me out!
3) Have comparative analysis of evidence, arguments, and preformative styles between your own positions compared to those of the other team.

4) Frame things— tell me how I should prioritize impacts otherwise I will default to util (see section at the bottom)
5) Be Persuasive, it will go a long way to making me to sign my ballot your way if you can make the round enjoyable, touching, funny, etc – it will also help your speaks.
6) Write the ballot for me in your 2nr/2ar, tell me how you win. Take risks, and don’t go for everything. Prioritize your best offense and tell me why that offense is critical to evaluating the round—force me to evaluate the debate through a prism that has you winning

Also, some other things:

1) I will default to competing interpretations and util unless an alternative mechanisms of evaluating the round are introduced

2) I will default to rejecting the argument not the team unless you tell me otherwise

3) I will avoid looking at evidence unless there is a dispute over evidence in a round or a debater spins it as part of being persuasive
4) I am an open minded judge, and respect all “realms” of debate though my own experience debating and coaching revolves around mostly K debate.

email: unionvillekl@gmail.com – put me on the email chain

overview

i debated for unionville for 4 years as a 2a and read mostly soft-left affs focusing on violence against women/gender minorities. that being said, please do whatever you do best and can explain well.

tech>truth and dropped arguments are true, but please explain why these arguments matter, especially for theory and other blippy arguments

ev spin/contextualization > ev quality, quantity, and recency in a vacuum – but this isn’t an excuse to read bad evidence

have fun and be respectful of everyone in the room. if there’s anything i can do to make debate more accessible to you, please let me know. i won’t vote for anything blatantly racist/sexist/ableist/etc. or anything approaching death good.

specific preferences

cp/da

i like good politics scenarios – if your da is innovative, i’ll be impressed. i’m fine with generics, but you should have a specific link or contextualize your link to the aff.

slow down on cp texts and explain multiple planks in the block. solvency advocates are necessary and even better if they come from the aff’s authors. i won’t kick the cp for you. aff – explain why i shouldn’t vote on sufficiency framing and the specific solvency deficits to the cp.

t

i really like good t debates and i think that many affs aren’t topical. i would prefer a case list and tva in the block if you’re going for t.

competing interps > reasonability

t debates are about your vision of the topic, not in-round abuse.

k/fw

i’m familiar with k’s from debating them. i have no ideological preferences but prefer jargon/theory to be well-explained. i have a high standard for 2ac against one off k and think the best 2acs use fewer cards.

i want to vote for a stable alternative whose solvency is uncontested or well-defended.

affs should get to weigh the aff and role of the ballot debates are often an excuse to not explain your warrants. i think fw against a 1 off k debate can make or break the aff.

k affs – these should be in the direction of the resolution, but i don’t think that the neg should have to debate against your personal experiences or that debate is a survival strategy. i want to know what voting for your advocacy does.

fw/t-usfg – i think debate is a game and procedural fairness is an independent impact. that being said, if you can prove procedural fairness is a bad model, go for it. i think tva’s are the most strategic way to win t.

theory

i think condo is good. i probably won’t vote on theory but can be convinced otherwise. i don’t think many cps are abusive enough to drop the team, but can be persuaded on drop the argument.

Did policy debate throughout high school, and attended UTNIF policy debate camp.

Will flow pretty much any argument that is isn't just obviously offensive or edgy.

Framework
You need to make this the most important argument in the round. For me at least. You loss framework, than you have a really high chance of lossing the round (depends on how far you are on the framework flow)

Dropping arguments
Drop them properly. Don’t just stop talking about them. If your opponent does drop this argument then bring it up so you can reap the benefits of their mistake.

Speed
I fine with it. I just ask that you slow down on the tags and the main warrants of the arg. If I can’t hear after I say clear three times I will only flow what I hear.

Theory
I like it and I know about it, but I am not going to do the work for you. Just because you say theory and extend it doesn’t mean that you explained ite. There needs to be a clear explanation on the theory flow what is the abuse that happens in the round and why it is important. Theory for me out ranks all others (not because it is an easy way out) because I feel that this argument are the actual rules of the debate round on what can and can’t be done by each team.

C/X
It is open I don’t flow it, but I do listen to it, and it can change my decision.

Please don't just throw K jargon around assuming I know what it means D:

CPs

will vote on good DA-Counterplan debate vs. an Aff with the conventional econ, security, war, or enviro advantages. When reading CPs, please make sure they are competitive or its not a very good debate.

T

Will vote on it, but really needs to impacted out beyond a premade shell

Experience: three years of HS policy debate (2013-16) nat circuit but not PA, currently a senior at UPenn

• Speed is fine, but it's been a few years so please be super clear on taglines. Numbering is helpful for me if used consistently between speeches, but if you won't continue them don't bother
• I ran mostly policy when I competed, only ever ran cap/security (and not often), not familiar with most other k lit - more below
• Cx - I won't vote on things from it that aren't in speeches. Open cx is fine but docking speaks if one partner doesn't participate at all.
• If tournament rules allow please put me on the email chain (dianalu0916@gmail.com)
• Prefer focused 2NR/2AR (quality > quantity), just tell me what to write as my rfd :)

K: Transparently, warrant level policy-oriented debate is my favorite debate, but a well-framed, well-explained, well-impacted critical round I can keep up with. I'm sold pretty easily on well executed policymaker fw. Ran a lot of fw arguments when I competed (not much theory) FW also makes for an easy RFD for me, so would spend considerable time on it with a separate flow, but up to you. Not familiar w any recent (past 3+ yrs) k lit so may need a slower explanation + definitions of any new terminology

T: Definitely appreciate a good t debate, but fairness/education impacts better take a fair chunk of the 2nr if it's going to be a serious consideration

Prep: If flashing is taking too long, counting on the other team to recommend taking prep time for it. Has really been delaying some rounds in the past. Stealing prep is a huge pet peeve of mine, if the timer's not going you shouldn't be either, super disrespectful to the other team. Let me know if you see your opponents doing it.

Admin note - recently switched back to this tabroom account, old one is under the same name for full judging history

Looking forward to meeting you all :)

Hey, please add me to the email chain crownmonthly@gmail.com.If you really don't want to read this I'm tech > truth, Warranted Card Extension > Card Spam and really only dislike hearing meme arguments which are not intended to win the round.

PF and LD specific stuff at the bottom. All the argument specific stuff still applies to both activities.

How to win in front of me:
Explain to me why I should vote for you and don't make me do work. I've noticed that I take "the path of least resistance" when voting; this means 9/10 I will make the decision that requires no work from me. You can do this by signposting and roadmapping so that my flow stays as clean as possible. You can also do this by actually flowing the other team and not just their speech doc. Too often debaters will scream for 5 minutes about a dropped perm when the other team answered it with analytics and those were not flown. Please don't be this team.

Online Debate Update

If you know you have connection/tech problems, then please record your speeches so that if you disconnect or experience poor internet the speech does not need to be stopped. Also please go a bit slower than your max speed on analytics because between mic quality and internet quality it can be tough to hear+flow everything if you go the same speed as cards on analytics.

Argumentation...

Theory/Topicality:

By default theory and topicality are voters and come aprior unless there is no offense on the flow. Should be clear what the interpretation, violation, voter, and impact are. I generally love theory debates but like with any judge you have to dedicate the time into it if you would like to win. Lastly you don't need to prove in round abuse to win but it REALLY helps and you probably won't win unless you can do this.

Framework:

I feel framework should be argued in almost any debate as I will not do work for a team. Unless the debate is policy aff v da+cp then you should probably be reading framework. I default to utilitarianism and will view myself as a policy maker unless told otherwise. This is not to say I lean toward these arguments (in fact I think util is weak and policy maker framing is weaker than that) but unless I explicitly hear "interpretation", "role of the judge", or "role of the ballot," I have to default to something. Now here I would like to note that Theory, Topicality, and Framework all interact with each other and you as the debater should see these interactions and use them to win. Please view these flows wholistically.

DA/CP:

I am comfortable voting on these as I believe every judge is but I beg you (unless it's a politics debate) please do not just read more cards but explain why you're authors disprove thier's. Not much else to say here besides impact calc please.

K:

I am a philosophy and political science major graduate so please read whatever you would like as far as literature goes; I have probably read it or debated it at some point so seriously don't be afraid. Now my openness also leaves you with a burden of really understanding the argument you are reading. Please leave the cards and explain the thought process, while I have voted on poorly run K's before those teams never do get high speaker points.

K Affs:

Look above for maybe a bit more, but I will always be open to voting and have voted on K affs of all kinds. I tend to think the neg has a difficult time winning policy framework against K affs for two reasons; first they debate framework/topicality most every round and will be better versed, and second framework/topicality tends to get turned rather heavily and costs teams rounds. With that said I have voted on framework/topicality it just tends to be the only argument the neg goes for in these cases.

Perms:

Perms are a test of competition unless I am told otherwise and 3+ perms is probably abusive but that's for theory.

Judge Intervention:

So I will only intervene if the 2AR makes new arguments I will ignore them as there is no 3NR. Ethics and evidence violations should be handled by tab or tournament procedures.

Speaks:

• What gets you good speaks:
  • Making it easier for me to flow
  • Demonstrate that you are flowing by ear and not off the doc.
  • Making things interesting
  • Clear spreading
  • Productive CX

• What hurts your speaks:
  • Wasting CX, Speech or Prep Time
  • Showing up later than check-in time (I would even vote on a well run theory argument - timeless is important)
  • Being really boring
  • Being rude

PF Specific

• I am much more lenient about dropped arguments than in any other form of debate. Rebuttals should acknowledge each link chain if they want to have answers in the summary. By the end of summary no new arguments should made. 1st and 2nd crossfire are binding speeches, but grand crossfire cannot be used to make new arguments. *these are just my defaults and in round you can argue to have me evaluate differently
• If you want me to vote on theory I need a Voting Issue and Impact - also probably best you spend the full of Final Focus on it.
• Make clear in final focus which authors have made the arguments you expect me to vote on - not necessary, but will help you win more rounds in front of me.
• In out-rounds where you have me and 2 lay judges on the panel I understand you will adapt down. To still be able to judge fairly I will resolve disputes still being had in final focus and assume impacts exist even where there are only internal links if both teams are debating like the impacts exist.
• Please share all evidence you plan to read in a speech with me your opponents before you give the speech. I understand it is not the norm in PF, but teams who do this will receive bonus speaker points from me for reading this far and making my life easier.

LD Specific

• 2AR should extend anything from the 1AR that they want me to vote on. I will try and make decisions using only the content extended into or made in the NR and 2AR.
• Don't just read theory because you think I want to hear it. Do read theory because your opponent has done or could do something that triggers in round abuse.
• Dropped arguments are true arguments, but my flow dictates what true means for my ballot - say things more than once if you think they could win/lose you the round if they are not flown.

Quick Bio

I did 3 years of policy debate in the RI Urban Debate League. Been judging since 2014. As a debater I typically ran policy affs and went for K's on the neg (Cap and Nietzsche mostly) but I also really enjoyed splitting the block CP/DA for the 2NC and K/Case for the 1NR. Despite all of this I had to have gone for theory in 40% of my rounds, mostly condo bad.

mx.ortiz.m@gmail.com

Assistant Coach @ Mamaroneck, 2020-2021

Assistant Coach @ Lexington, 2019-20

Debated @ Northside College Prep, 2015-19

TL;DR

The sections below this are a set of my opinions on debate, not a stringent set of guidelines that I always adhere to when making decisions. I encourage you to go for the arguments that you enjoy instead of overcorrecting to my paradigm. I tend to like most arguments - my only distinction between good and bad debates is whether or not your argumentation is strategic and nuanced.

I think CX is heavily underutilized by most debaters. Organized debates make my job easier and are more enjoyable.

Non-negotiables:

I won’t vote on things that have happened outside of the round.

There is a fine line between being assertive and being rude in CX - please be aware of it.

Don’t threaten others or make harmful comments about someone or a group of people - you will lose the round and I will talk with your coaches.

Non-Traditional Affs/Clash Debates

It’s hard for me to be convinced that policy debate actively creates bad people OR perfect policymakers; I think there’s value in challenging our understanding of the resolution and debate itself, but I also don’t think T is inherently violent.

In clash debates, I tend to vote negative when the affirmative fails to parse out the unique benefits of their model of debate, and tend to vote affirmative when the negative fails to grapple with the applicable offense of case. Organization often falls by the wayside in these debates, so I would encourage you to identify the nexus questions of the debate early and compartmentalize them to one area of the flow.

Fairness can be an impact, but it is not one by default - that requires explanation. I’ll vote for any impact on FW if effectively argued, but I personally like strategies centered around truth-testing/dogmatism. I think skepticism is healthy and that breaking out of our preferred ideological bubbles results in more ethical and pragmatic decision-making over time, but I can also be persuaded that the method the aff defends can also be consistently ethical/beneficial.

Aff teams are overly reliant on exclusion/policing arguments but almost never actually impact out the tangible consequences of the negative model as a result, or provide a reason why the ballot would resolve this. If arguments like these are what you like going for, I suggest you codify them within a reasonability paradigm that criticizes the usefulness of the competing interpretations model when it comes to K Affs.

I will say that I am quite partial to teams that go for the K against non-traditional affs (I judge FW debates frequently, and they get repetitive). Most K affs nowadays are specifically tailored to beat FW and generally rely on generic permutations to beat back K’s. I can be easily convinced that permutations exist to compare the opportunity cost of combining specific policies, and that in debates of competing methodologies the evaluating point of the debate should be reliant on who had broader explanatory power and a more effective orientation. How I decide that is up to what parameters you establish within the debate.

Kritiks

I’m not opposed to any of them. However, I do prefer techy K debaters - overviews should be short and the substantive parts of the debate should be done on the respective parts of the line by line.

Specificity goes beyond good links - nuanced impact and turns case explanations make it easier to vote on something tangible as opposed to nebulous platitudes. It’s easy to tell when you have a generic link wall with fill-in-the-blanks like “insert aff impact” “aff mechanism” etc.

For both teams - know the broader theories that your arguments function within (i.e. understanding what theory of IR your authors defend, or actually knowing a decent amount about the author your K is named after). Understanding these concepts outside of the context of debate will give you the tools to be more specific in round, and will often give you additional ways to leverage offense.

Aff teams with extinction impacts - stop overcorrecting to the negative team's strategy. Extinction is extinction, which is easily defensible as bad - if you're not link turning the K/going for the perm, I find it strange when the 1AR/2AR try to subsume the K's impacts/offense by describing how the inroads to extinction would be bad for X group the K is worried about ("nUcLeAr StRiKeS tArGeT uRbAn CeNtErS") ... because extinction, in the end, kills everyone. Also, K teams often capitalize on this arbitrary framing and make it a new link. Don't waste your time - win that you get to weigh your impacts and then win that your impacts outweigh.

CP’s

The more specific, the better.

Yes judge kick. “Status quo is always an option,” once said, is sufficient enough for me to be willing to kick the CP unless the aff explicitly challenges it in both aff rebuttals.

Condo is good. If the 2AR is condo, it's either been dropped or you think it is your only road to victory.

I lean neg on most theory issues, but can be convinced that process CPs and 50 state/NGA fiat are bad for debate.

Invest time and organization into the competition debate - meta definitions matter just as much as word definitions in these debates because they are about competing models.

Severance perms are probably always bad, but intrinsic perms can be very useful if you know how to defend them well.

DA’s/Case turns

Love them, even the crappy ones - there's nothing more fun than watching someone very effectively debate in favor of something everyone in the round knows is ridiculously unlikely.

Winning framing does not mean you win terminal defense to the DA. Winning that a DA is low risk comes from substantive arguments, and then how the framing debate is resolved dictates whether or not risk probability matters. Seriously. Nebulous arguments about the conjunctive fallacy or the general low risk of existential impacts mean nothing if the 2NR can just get up and point to a unique internal link chain on their DA that has not been contested.

Impact turn debates are some of my favorite rounds to judge, but unfortunately I am often left to resolve stalemates within a debate by reading a bulk of the cards in the round and then determining on my own which ones are better, which I think functions as a disservice to everyone in the round. I don’t think that having less/worse ev necessarily means you’ll lose the debate, but you must have constant and effective comparison in-round.

Topicality+

Evidence comparison matters. Terminal impacts are important - so many 2NRs don't do this work (why, I don't know). Not enough teams are going for T against the egregious number of bad affs on this topic.

I don't like arguments like Embody PTX because I don't think there is a way to enforce them as a model and thus lend themselves to problematic enforcement, and it frustrates me when affirmative teams don't make the obvious case for this being true.

Aff teams should be going for reasonability more often against nitpicky T violations - not as a vague appeal, but as a better heuristic than competing interps.

Hello, I am a parent judge and have been judging policy, LD, PF, some Congress for the past 3 years.

My email id is mythilig@yahoo.com.

2021. LD, PF, Congress I have judged a lot and I am good at all levels.

CX, treat me like a lay judge through detailed technicalities. Spreading is fine if you email me your cases. But, slow down and make tag lines super clear.

The faster you want to speak, the more clearly you will need to speak. I value clarity greatly over speed. Spreading is a tool, but it won't win you the round. I appreciate weighing mechanisms that show how you want me to weigh your evidence over your opponents'. Focus on clarity in Rebuttals, tell clearly me what you want me to put in the ballot.

I will raise my hand or call CLEAR if I am not following and won't call more than twice in a speech - at that point, it will be your loss if I don't follow.

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I only give you lower than a 26 if you are: offensive, rude, racist, or are an unfair debater.

0 speaks for blatant cheating or card-clipping.

Ks: I am not very well versed in the lit for Ks. No jargon. If you are going to go with anything complicated, you must explain it extremely well in order for me to vote off of it.

DAs: I am good with them. Maintain a clear narrative that I can understand and do impact calc.

T: Do not get caught up in jargon. I won't know what you are saying. Be clear and concise about impacts and how I should evaluate T.

Theory: I will vote on theory possibly if it is really well explained

Counterplans: I'm good with counterplans. Explain slowly and well what the counterplan does and how I should evaluate it. Explain how it solves the aff and what the net benefit is. Do this well and you can win a CP

Technical debate: While this is a tech debate, do not lose sight of English and impacts to the people / world because of the technicalities, especially in the 2NR and 2AR.

Debated for Whitney Young High School, 2013-2017

Assistant Coach at Lasalle College High School, 2017-Present

Update April 2020 for LD ToC:

I'm usually a policy judge, I don't like phil debates or trix

Basics:

I debated primarily blackness arguments in high school. I am well-versed in traditional afro-pessimism literature like Wilderson/Sexton/Warren, but also debated everything from Black Psychoanalysis, Weheliye, and Black communism to Culp and Will to Tech K’s. That being said, I am a general fan of K’s that are well-run.

It's quite cliche, but debate what's best for you. If you're a Baudrillard team normally, don't read race arguments that you think will appeal to me if they aren’t your strongest. The same can be said for a policy team. Don’t judge adapt unless you think it’s equally as strong a strategy. I would much rather hear you read your heg/econ aff than a relatively undeveloped warming aff.

At the end of the day, unless you do/say something egregious despite my own preference for arguments, I attempt to evaluate more tech than what I personally believe is truth, so do whatever you do well.

I enjoy good cx meaning you have a well prepared set of questions that conceivably have some tie-in to an argument you wish to make in the later debates or help clarify a point. While cx might have some influence on how I frame arguments subconsciously, I won't explicitly assume a cx argument has some impact on the rest of the debate unless you reference it and flag it.

Smart arguments and pointing out how the other team's evidence might not be as strong as initially thought is a plus-- I think it's a skill that is undervalued and will help you gain ethos advantage. Additionally, people sometimes assume that the tag of the evidence is what the card is, but I enjoy debate over the spin of the card whether it's a K link or politics uniqueness card.

DA’s/C-plans:

I’m fine with these. They aren’t my favorite style of debate to judge, but I will be engaged if you do your best to ensure that the strategies are specific and relevant. I would much rather hear specific disads that are case relevant than a generic politics shell and a states counterplan shell. However, I do recognize that midterms and states counterplan are both staples on this topic, so just make sure your block analysis is case relevant

FW (offcase):

Not the biggest fan of this strategy, but I do recognize its popularity in debate. If you’re going for framework, I’ll feel more inclined to vote for your strategy if you attempt to engage the case rather than group their case arguments and say fairness outweighs. What do I mean by engage the case? That could mean anything from reading a cap K with aff specific links, reading case defense, or making your fw shell particular to what the aff has done

K’s:

Big fan if done well but that’s mostly above

K aff’s:

Big fan.

I debated policy for 4 years in high school, currently debate at GMU. Debate whatever you want, however you want. Add me to the email chain - prswisher@gmail.com - i'll probably follow along in the doc. Here's a few things to consider:

- for wacfl, open cross-x and email chain's are fine, I won't take prep for sending files unless it becomes unreasonable

***also for wacfl - people should disclose, that means sending the aff (if its not new) to the neg if it's not on the wiki, before the round

- Speed's fine, but don't sacrifice clarity

- tech over truth, but only if the tech's true --- explain why things matter, dropped arg's don't mean you can win the debate on a 15 second extension

- Condo's probably a good thing, and is probably the only winnable reject the team vs reject the arg, for theory

- However!! consult and international actor cp's are probably not a good thing

- T has a high threshold for me to vote on

- Case debate is a thing, you should do it and can win on it

- k's are fine and fun, topic/aff specific arg's are always better than generic ones

***FW --- ill vote on it, it's winnable and k aff's better be ready to defend it.

I'm familiar with both policy and critical argumentation as I debated for about three years in high school and attended debate camp at Wake Forest University the summer before my senior year.

- Make sure you have a claim, warrant and impact to every argument that you make.

- Don't go for everything in the 2NR/2AR! Explain to me why you should win based on the argument that you are strongest on according to the flow.

- I am okay with spreading!

- Properly explain your positions! I'm new to this resolution, so don't make assumptions that I'm familiar with the case that you could be running!