Bonilla v. Gonzalez Rogers

Background

Steven Wayne Bonilla, identified as a state prisoner, filed multiple self-represented civil-rights complaints under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He also asked to proceed without paying the filing fees. The defendants included various federal judges, state judges, municipalities, and other state and county officials. The complaints presented similar claims concerning Bonilla’s underlying conviction and the handling of his self-represented petitions challenging his imprisonment.

The order noted that Bonilla was a condemned prisoner with a pending federal petition challenging his imprisonment in the same court, where he had appointed counsel. It also noted that he was represented by counsel in state-court proceedings challenging his imprisonment.

Reasons for the Decision

The court stated that Bonilla had been disqualified from proceeding without paying filing fees under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), a federal statute that limits fee-free lawsuits by prisoners who have accumulated qualifying dismissals. The court also found that the complaints did not show Bonilla faced an immediate danger when he filed them, so he could not proceed without paying the fees.

The court added that, even if an application to proceed without paying fees were granted, the lawsuits would be barred under Heck v. Humphrey, Younger v. Harris, Demos v. U.S. District Court, or Mullis v. U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The opinion did not separately explain how each cited authority applied to each complaint.

Ruling

The court dismissed the cases with prejudice. It directed the clerk to terminate all pending motions and close the cases, and to return without filing any further documents Bonilla submitted after closure. Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton issued and signed the order.