Doherty,+Carol+Anne

I am a parent lay judge. I have only judged LD a few times in local tournaments.

I prefer traditional value-criterion LD debate. If you decide to run Ks, CPs, DAs, etc. be sure that you clearly explain and provide justification to convince me that your case is better than your opponents from a value criterion basis. No LARPing.

I do not understand spreading. Do not spread. If you speak quickly, be sure you are speaking clearly and distinctly. I will only say “clear” once. If you do not slow down, then I will not be able to follow your arguments much less flow your case. The faster you speak, the higher the risk that I will miss something.

You need to make my job easy. Provide voters that are clear and easy to follow. Your points should be convincing and constructive. You must explain why your points/arguments are better than your opponents. Provide clear weighing mechanism. Stay topical and link your arguments back to topic.

Please be courteous throughout the round including cross-ex. I will give low speaker points to those who are abrasive, dominating, discourteous, yelling, ill-mannered, etc. I will also give low speaker points to those who spread for a judge who cannot understand spreading.