by Joe Watson

Anna Michelle Young, who was wrongfully arrested and incarcerated two days after Christmas in 2003 in Hancock County, Ind., agreed to settle her suit against Sheriff Nicholas Gulling, et al, in August 2008 for unspecified damages.

The Hancock Superior Court allegedly ordered the clerk of the court to mistakenly issue a warrant for Young’s arrest on Dec. 19, 2003, for failure to appear. The warrant was served eight days later by a sheriff’s deputy who arrested Young and processed her into the Hancock County jail.

Young allegedly explained to the deputy and other jail employees that her arrest was improper, but the jail took no action to verify Young’s claims. Once she was taken before Hancock County’s superior court, the court purportedly acknowledged that she had been mistakenly arrested and detained, and it ordered Young to be immediately released.

On Dec. 21, 2005, Michael J. Tosick, attorney for Young, filed suit against Gulling, as well as two jail employees. The case was removed to U.S. District Court, and Young sought relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C.S. §§ 1983, 1988, including the recovery of her own costs and attorney’s fees, as well as damages. The parties agreed to settle the case, however, and stipulated to a dismissal before Judge William T. Lawrence, who dismissed the case with prejudice. See: Young v. Gulling, U.S.D.C. (S.D. Ind.), Case No. 1:06-CV-00097.

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