Sandusky County judge removed from office for judicial conduct violations

The Supreme Court this week removed Sandusky County Common Pleas Court Judge Jon Ickes from judicial office without pay. This stems from the Court suspending him for two years due to several judicial conduct violations. 

The misconduct includes presiding over two cases in which he had a “glaring conflict of interest” and cultivating an unprofessional workplace environment.

Ickes was appointed to the court’s general and domestic relations division in 2020 and elected to a full six-year term beginning in January 2021.

Writing for the Court majority, Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy stated that the purpose of judicial discipline is to protect the public, guarantee the evenhanded administration of justice, and maintain and enhance public confidence in the integrity of the judiciary. Ickes’s refusal to disqualify himself when his impartiality might have reasonably been questioned “caused incalculable harm to the public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary,” she wrote.

The Board of Professional Conduct, which found that Ickes committed 10 of the 17 charged judicial rule violations, recommended that the Court suspend the judge for one year, with the suspension fully stayed on the condition that he not commit further misconduct. The Court determined that a more severe sanction was necessary.

Justices Patrick F. Fischer, Daniel R. Hawkins, and Megan E. Shanahan joined Chief Justice Kennedy’s opinion. Fourth District Court of Appeals Judge Michael D. Hess, sitting for Justice Jennifer Brunner, also joined the majority opinion.

Justice R. Patrick DeWine stated he would impose a one-year suspension, with six months stayed. Justice Joseph T. Deters stated he would impose a two-year suspension, fully stayed, with the conditions that Ickes not commit further misconduct and complete a course on anti-harassment training.