Bonilla v. Yabuno

Background

Steven Wayne Bonilla, a state prisoner, filed multiple civil-rights complaints under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 while representing himself. The complaints named dozens of federal and state judges as defendants and presented nearly identical claims. Bonilla sought relief concerning his underlying conviction and the handling of other cases in state and federal courts.

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

Filing-fee restriction

The court stated that Bonilla had previously been disqualified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) from proceeding in forma pauperis, meaning without prepaying filing fees, unless he was in imminent danger of serious physical injury when he filed the complaint. The court found that the allegations did not show such danger. Bonilla therefore could not proceed without paying the required fees.

Other legal bars

The court further stated that, even if an application to proceed without prepaying 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 decide the underlying civil-rights claims on their merits.

Recusal issue and disposition

The court rejected the suggestion that the judge's impartiality could reasonably be questioned because of the repetitive and allegedly frivolous filings. A footnote states that Bonilla named the judge as a defendant in one case and that the complaint made no specific allegations against the judge; the supplied opinion text ends before the footnote is complete.

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. The order was signed by Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton.