Analysis · Speech on a bill · beta

Derek Schmidt

Republican on Local Access to Courts Act 2026-08-31

336 words · 19 sentences · 24 clauses

Statement grade

Average 92 / 100

A score under 50 is red. Choose a measurement to see where it lost points and why; choose it again to clear.

Procedure 5%Claims 68%Anecdote 10%Reasoning 11%Positioning 4%The ask 3%

This view breaks the statement into its steps and names what each one does.

Mr. Speaker, Procedure · 9 wordsI yield myself such time as I may consume.Procedure Mr. Speaker, Claims · 139 wordslocal access to Federal courts is critical to ensuring the rights of the people are protected. Under current law, the Southern District of Texas is divided into seven districts.¹ The Houston Division comprises 13 counties but is only authorized to hold court in Houston.² The Southern District of California comprises two counties, ³and the Court is only authorized to be held in the city of San Diego.⁴ Both of these judicial districts have experienced significant population growth in recent years, and their organization means that far too many Americans have to travel long distances for their day in court. In both regions, Americans may have to travel as far as 100 miles or more just to reach the Federal courthouse.⁵ These distances place an unnecessary burden on those who need to access both the civil and criminal justice systems. Anecdote · 33 wordsI might say, Mr. Speaker, while I strongly support this legislation, 100 miles isn’t very far to get to the Federal courthouse when you live in parts of my home State of Kansas.Anecdote Claims · 80 wordsThe Local Access to Courts Act would help to alleviate the burden by adding an additional place in both judicial districts where the Southern District of Texas and the Southern District of California may hold court. In the Southern District of Texas, S. 32 would add College Station to the list of places where court may be held.⁶ In the Southern District of California, this bill would add El Centro to the list of places where court may be held.⁷ Reasoning · 37 wordsS. 32 would increase accessibility to our Federal courts for victims, jurors, civil parties, counsel, and the general public by sparing them from the burden of a multihour drive just to get to the nearest Federal courthouse. Claims · 8 wordsS. 32 passed the Senate by unanimous consent, ⁸Positioning · 13 wordsand I am glad to see that same bipartisan support in the House.Positioning The ask · 10 wordsI urge all of my colleagues to support this bill. Mr. Speaker, Procedure · 7 wordsI reserve the balance of my time.Procedure

At a glance

Lost points for

Switch Claims on to list the checkable claims here.

What the tags mean

Signal · 80

5 of 5 deductions are Signal

Signal checks whether every part makes a point, gives a reason, or asks for action. A low score means the speaker filled time with fluff, pleasantries, or attacks.

Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “I yield myself such time as I may consume.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
A story that illustrates instead of making a point.What the tags mean “I might say, Mr. Speaker,”An anecdote: it illustrates, it does not claim, reason or ask.
A story that illustrates instead of making a point.What the tags mean “while I strongly support this legislation, 100 miles isn’t very far to get to the Federal courthouse when you live in parts of my home State of Kansas.”An anecdote: it illustrates, it does not claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “and I am glad to see that same bipartisan support in the House.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “I reserve the balance of my time.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.

Relevance · 100

0 of 5 deductions are Relevance

Relevance checks whether the speaker stays on topic and answers the question asked. A low score means the speaker dodged the issue. Measured against the bill under debate.

Nothing lost points.

Reasoning · 87

0 of 5 deductions are Reasoning

Reasoning checks for sound logic and solid support for any conclusion. A low score means the speaker made unsupported leaps or used weak arguments.

Nothing lost points.

Conclusions found · 1

Conclusion“I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill.”

Because“and their organization means that far too many Americans have to travel long distances for their day in court.”

“In both regions, Americans may have to travel as far as 100 miles or more just to reach the Federal courthouse.”

“These distances place an unnecessary burden on those who need to access both the civil and criminal justice systems.”

“The Local Access to Courts Act would help to alleviate the burden by adding an additional place in both judicial districts where the Southern District of Texas and the Southern District of California may hold court.”

“and the general public by sparing them from the burden of a multihour drive just to get to the nearest Federal courthouse.”

Reason given

Respect · no score

Not checked: graded before this measurement existed. Excluded from the average.

Respect checks whether the speaker argued with people’s positions and records rather than attacking the people: insults, mockery, or bad motives assigned to them. Criticism of what someone did, however strong, is not marked.

Clarity · 100

0 of 5 deductions are Clarity

Clarity checks for plain speaking, clear ownership of actions, and honest limits on certainty. A low score means vague promises or evasive language.

Nothing lost points.

Claims · 8

This list shows the factual statements you can check for yourself: the words as said, and the claim restated to stand on its own.

1“the Southern District of Texas is divided into seven districts”The Southern District of Texas is currently divided into seven divisions.search
2“The Houston Division comprises 13 counties but is only authorized to hold court in Houston”The Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas comprises 13 counties and is currently authorized to hold court only in Houston.search
3“The Southern District of California comprises two counties”The Southern District of California consists of two counties (Imperial and San Diego).search
4“the Court is only authorized to be held in the city of San Diego”Court may currently be held only in San Diego in the Southern District of California.search
5“Americans may have to travel as far as 100 miles or more just to reach the Federal courthouse”Some residents of these two judicial districts may have to travel 100 miles or more to reach the federal courthouse.search
6“would add College Station to the list of places where court may be held”The Local Access to Courts Act (S. 32) would add College Station as a place where court may be held in the Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas.search
7“this bill would add El Centro to the list of places where court may be held”The bill would add El Centro as a place where court may be held in the Southern District of California.search
8“passed the Senate by unanimous consent”S. 32 passed the Senate by unanimous consent.search

Analyzed on 2026-09-15