Bonilla v. White

Background

Steven Wayne Bonilla, a state prisoner, filed multiple civil-rights complaints under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 without a lawyer. He is described as a condemned prisoner and as having a pending federal petition challenging his custody, with appointed counsel, as well as state-court proceedings in which he was represented by counsel.

The complaints named various federal and state court judges as defendants. The cases presented similar claims concerning Bonilla’s underlying conviction and the way state and federal courts handled his other petitions and cases.

Filing-fee status and dismissal

The order states that Bonilla had previously been disqualified from proceeding without paying the filing fee under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), unless he showed that he was in immediate danger of serious physical injury when he filed the complaint. The court found that the allegations did not show such danger. It therefore ruled that he could not proceed without paying the filing fee.

The court further stated that, even if Bonilla had been allowed to proceed without paying the fee, the lawsuits would be barred under the legal rules discussed in Heck v. Humphrey, Younger v. Harris, Demos v. U.S. District Court, and Mullis v. U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The court dismissed the cases with prejudice.

Other rulings and case status

The court rejected any suggestion that Judge Hamilton’s impartiality could reasonably be questioned because of Bonilla’s repetitive and allegedly frivolous filings. The clerk was ordered to terminate all pending motions and close the cases. The clerk was also ordered to return, without filing, any further documents Bonilla submitted in the closed cases.