Basic Downloads

Are you new to speech and debate? The following downloads are for you. They contain introductions to various events that the Monument Membership explores. These downloads are updated every summer to prepare for the new year of competition.

Your Basic Downloads Source Material for Season 22:

File Name	S22-Policy-Stoa-36-NEG-ExculpatoryDisclosure.docx
File Size	1.30 MB
Date added	January 17, 2022
Category	Policy (Stoa)
Author	Vance Trefethen

Resolved: The United States federal government substantially reform the use of Artificial Intelligence technology

Case Summary: The Supreme Court in the 1963 case of Brady v. Maryland required as a matter of constitutional law that prosecutors in criminal cases must hand over to the defense any potentially exculpatory information they find. “Exculpatory information” means evidence or information that would tend to help prove the defendant is innocent. For example, if the prosecutor has a star witness who is going to testify he saw the defendant at the scene of the crime, but the prosecutor also has a video tape from a security camera on the other side of town that shows the witness was 5 miles away when the crime occurred, the prosecutor must disclose that “exculpatory” video tape to the defense. Such exculpatory evidence is often referred to in the literature as “Brady material,” named after the court case above.
The increasing use of facial recognition software means more criminal cases hinge on evidence coming from the results of an AI program. When facial recognition says the picture from the camera at the scene of the crime matches suspect “Jimmy,” and Jimmy then gets arrested, Jimmy’s defense attorney might like to know some key facts: How many other people did the AI program also name as possible matches to the crime scene picture? What was the confidence level that the AI assigned to the match? For example, did the AI say it was a 30% likelihood that Jimmy matched the picture, but that was the highest percentage match they had, so they went with it and arrested him, even though it’s a 70% chance he’s innocent?
These additional facts beyond just “The AI identified Jimmy as the suspect” should be disclosed to the defense, under the Brady rule, since they might tend to prove Jimmy is innocent. AFF will argue that they are not being disclosed. They’re probably right, but here’s the problem: Status Quo law already requires it to be disclosed. So… what does the plan do that Status Quo isn’t already trying to do?
All the debate about evidence standards is a waste of time anyway, since 97% of federal and 94% of state criminal cases never go to trial and the evidence is never brought out in court. Most cases are handled by plea bargain. So evidence rarely matters and among the rare cases when it does, facial recognition evidence is rarely an issue. This impact of this case would be microscopic.
In the modern era, with ‘big data’ becoming more and more a part of investigations, there will always be multiple names that will come up in database searches. The standards of what constitutes “exculpatory” information under the Brady standards are so vague and contested that adding more standards is a sure formula for endless litigation and clogged courts.

Download Your Preseason Documents, too:

You may still access Season 21 downloads here.

All Season 22 Basic Downloads will be updated by August 31, 2021. They will remain available through Season 22.

Easy Entry to the World of Speech and Debate

All Members have access to the digital copy of Easy Entry to the World of Speech and Debate by Chris Jeub. Download it below or order a hard copy.

Season 22 Release Schedule

Monument releases content all year long, from one national tournament to another, in what we call "seasons." We are entering Season 22 (2021-2022). For a list of all Member downloads for Season 21, click here. The following is the general release schedule for Season 22:

End of Season 21 - Officially archived on June 28, 2021. The new Season 22 releases begin July 5, 2021.
July-August - The first Monument Monday releases July 5, 2021. Basic informational material will continue through the summer (e.g. summaries, resolutional articles, etc.).
August 30, 2021 - End of the Pre-season, beginning of the official year of Monument Speech and Debate.
~~Christmas~~ Thanksgiving 2021 (we finished early!) - All foundational downloads are complete! Summaries of all releases are now available.
Through March 2022 - BONUS material released to members on a more as-needed basis using our Coaching Request Form.
April-June, 2022 - Qualifier and Nationals Preparation work is arranged...and Monument Members will be prepared to win!

Season 22 Debate Resolutions

Resolutions for Season 22 are posted here as they are announced by various speech and debate leagues.

Policy (all season):
- NCFCA: "Resolved: The United States Federal Government should significantly reform its policies regarding convicted prisoners under federal jurisdiction."
- NSDA: "Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its protection of water resources in the United States."
- NSDA Vote for Season 23 (Due December 15, 2021):
  - OPTION 1 – GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE – Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its support of multilateral greenhouse gas emission reduction regimes.
  - OPTION 2 – GLOBAL GEO-POLITICAL CRISIS: EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES – Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its security cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in one or more of the following areas: artificial intelligence, biotechnology, cybersecurity.
- Stoa: "Resolved: The United States Federal Government should substantially reform the use of Artificial Intelligence technology."
Lincoln-Douglas:
- NCFCA (all season): "Resolved: In the context of innovation, the proactionary principle ought to be valued above the precautionary principle."
- NSDA releases six resolutions through the year:
  - Sept/Oct Novice: "Resolved: Civil disobedience in a democracy is morally justified."
  - Sept/Oct Varsity: "Resolved: The member nations of the World Trade Organization ought to reduce intellectual property protections for medicines."
  - Nov/Dec: "Resolved: A just government ought to recognize an unconditional right of workers to strike."
  - Jan/Feb: "Resolved: The appropriation of outer space by private entities is unjust."
  - Next release is due February 1, 2022.
- Stoa (all season): "Resolved: In the field of biomedical engineering, restraint ought to be prioritized over scientific advancement."
Other Formats:
- Big Questions Debate (all season): "Resolved: On balance, societies benefit from religious belief and practice."
- Public Forum for Sept/Oct: "Resolved: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization should substantially increase its defense commitments to the Baltic states."
- Public Forum for Nov/Dec: "Resolved: Increased United States federal regulation of cryptocurrency transactions and/or assets will produce more benefits than harms."
- Public Forum for January: "Resolved: The United States federal government should legalize all illicit drugs."
- Public Forum's next release is due January 1, 2022.

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