FTC sent a letter to the chair of the Judicial Conference’s Executive Committee this morning — we opted against addressing it to Chief Justice Roberts, since he still owes FTC, two senators and a House member an answer on SCOTUS ethics — and asked her to balance the makeup of the Judicial Conference Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability.

Right now, the Committee comprises six GOP-appointed senior judges and one Democratic senior judge — or so we believe, as membership isn’t made public.

With accelerating partisanship in our political branches coupled with the end of the 60-vote threshold for all levels of confirmation, more judicial nominees are more likely to be operatives who feel little compunction about spouting partisanship in speeches, interviews and even opinions.

We don’t love the idea of using the judicial misconduct process to try to hold judges accountable for these screeds — informal measures are preferable — but it’s already happening, so something must be done to keep the Committee unimpeachable.

Just as the partisan makeup of the FISA Court was balanced after public pressure, the same should happen with this Committee.

Read the letter here.