Jason A. Cichowicz Suspended

The Indiana Supreme Court suspended St. Joseph Probate Court Judge Jason A. Cichowicz without pay for 45 days after he agreed to a conditional discipline agreement with the state's Commission on Judicial Qualifications. The Commission's charges included that Cichowicz continued serving in a fiduciary role for someone outside his family after taking the bench, used the prestige of his judicial office to benefit a family member, and failed to disclose that he served as trustee of a charitable foundation — a foundation from which he drew funds to pay for court improvement projects.

Cichowicz and the Commission jointly submitted a statement of circumstances and an agreed proposed discipline, which the Indiana Supreme Court accepted. He was suspended from the bench from September 5 through October 20, 2023, and ordered to pay $3,824 in investigative costs.