PORTLAND (AP) – U.S. District Court Judge D. Brock Hornby has been named to a panel that will look into how federal courts handle judicial misconduct.

Hornby’s work on the six-member panel, which will be headed by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer, will begin this month.

The committee’s mission is to “evaluate how the federal judicial system is dealing with judicial misbehavior and disability,” according to a statement by court administrators.

Hornby, who served as chairman of the Court Administration and Case Management Conference, a policy-making body with broad jurisdiction, is a well-known judge on a national scale and tremendously respected, said David Sellers, a spokesman for the federal court system.

Chief Justice William Rehnquist created the panel in response to criticism about the way the federal courts handle complaints against judges.