Bonilla v. Kingsbury

Background

Steven Wayne Bonilla, a state prisoner, filed multiple civil-rights complaints without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The complaints were nearly identical. Bonilla sought relief concerning his underlying conviction and the handling of his various self-filed petitions and other cases in state and federal court. The opinion states that he also had a pending federal petition challenging his imprisonment, with appointed counsel, and was represented by counsel in state court proceedings concerning that petition.

Filing-fee status and legal bars

The court stated that Bonilla had previously been disqualified from proceeding without paying the filing fee under the Prison Litigation Reform Act's three-strikes rule, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). That rule permits a disqualified prisoner to proceed without paying only if he shows that he was in imminent danger of serious physical injury when he filed the complaint.

The court found that Bonilla's allegations did not show imminent danger at the relevant time. The court therefore ruled that he could not proceed without paying the filing fee. The court further stated that, even if an application to proceed without paying the fee were granted, the lawsuits would be barred under the legal rules identified in the order, including rules concerning challenges to convictions, ongoing state proceedings, and the authority of federal courts.

Disposition

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 in those closed cases. Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton signed the order on December 1, 2020.