Bonilla

Background

Steven Wayne Bonilla, identified as a state prisoner and a condemned prisoner, filed multiple civil-rights complaints without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The cases named various federal judges, state judges, municipalities, and other court officials as defendants. The complaints presented very similar claims seeking relief concerning Bonilla’s underlying conviction and the handling of his self-represented habeas petitions and other cases.

The opinion also states that Bonilla had a pending federal habeas petition in the same court with appointed counsel and was represented by counsel in state-court habeas proceedings.

Filing-fee status and dismissal

The court stated that Bonilla had been disqualified from proceeding without paying the filing fee under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), unless he was in imminent danger of serious physical injury when he filed his complaints. The court found that the allegations did not show such imminent danger. Therefore, Bonilla could not proceed without paying the filing fee.

The court further stated that, even if an application to proceed without paying the filing fee were granted, the lawsuits would be barred under the legal doctrines identified in Heck v. Humphrey, Younger v. Harris, Demos v. U.S. District Court, or Mullis v. U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Ruling

The court dismissed the cases with prejudice. It also stated that the cases were not ones in which the judge’s impartiality could reasonably be questioned. The clerk was ordered to terminate all pending motions, close the cases, and return without filing any further documents Bonilla submitted in those closed cases.

Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton signed the order on July 6, 2020.