Franklin,+Sharon

I am the parent of a debater from Walt Whitman High School, Bethesda, Maryland, and I am also an attorney and a former litigator. I have been judging LD, mostly at local tournaments in Maryland and Virginia, but have had some national circuit experience in the northeast. I will flow the round, and vote off the flow. However, please do not speak too quickly. If I cannot hear and process what you are saying, I cannot flow it, and the argument will not count. I very much appreciate sign-posting, not only at the beginning of your speech, but along the way. Where applicable, please tell me which of your opponent’s arguments you are refuting and where on the flow you are moving next. I am most familiar with a value-criterion structure, with students debating the merits of each others’ standards, and demonstrating how their contentions best meet these standards. I do not have experience judging theory debate or critical argumentation. I will do my best to judge these if you present them, but I would prefer to hear arguments directly related to the topic.