Bonilla v. Clay

Background

Steven Wayne Bonilla, identified as a state prisoner, filed multiple self-represented civil-rights complaints under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The defendants included various state-court judges. The court said Bonilla’s cases presented very similar claims seeking relief concerning his underlying conviction and the handling of his self-represented habeas petitions and other cases by state and federal courts.

The opinion also noted 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 issue

To the extent Bonilla sought permission to proceed without paying the filing fee, the court held that he was disqualified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). That statute permits a previously disqualified prisoner to proceed without the fee only if the complaint shows that the prisoner was in imminent danger of serious physical injury when the complaint was filed. The court found that Bonilla’s allegations did not show imminent danger at that time.

Ruling

The court stated that Bonilla could not proceed without paying the filing fee and then concluded that the cases were dismissed with prejudice. The provided opinion text contains a gap after the court’s statement that dismissal would follow even if an additional condition were met; the missing text prevents a more specific summary of that portion of the court’s reasoning.

The court ordered the clerk to terminate all pending motions and close both cases. It also directed the clerk to return, without filing, any further documents Bonilla submitted in the closed cases. Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton signed the order.