Bonilla

Background

Steven Wayne Bonilla, identified in the order as a state prisoner and a condemned prisoner, filed multiple civil-rights complaints under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 without a lawyer. The complaints were nearly identical. They named dozens of federal and state judges as defendants and sought relief concerning Bonilla’s underlying conviction or the way other state and federal cases had been handled.

The order also noted that Bonilla had a pending federal petition challenging his detention or conviction in the same court with appointed counsel, and that he was represented by counsel in state-court proceedings.

Court’s Reasoning

The court addressed Bonilla’s requests to proceed without paying the filing fee. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), a prisoner may not proceed under that fee-waiver procedure unless the complaint shows that the prisoner was in immediate danger of serious physical injury when the complaint was filed. The court found that these complaints did not show such danger.

The court further stated that, even if Bonilla’s requests to proceed without paying the filing fee were granted, the lawsuits would be barred under legal rules identified in the order, including Heck v. Humphrey, Younger v. Harris, Demos v. U.S. District Court, and Mullis v. U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The opinion did not decide the underlying civil-rights claims on their merits.

The court also stated that the repetitive and frivolous nature of the filings did not create a reasonable basis to question the undersigned judge’s impartiality. It cited the principle that, absent legitimate grounds for recusal, a judge has a duty to decide assigned cases.

Disposition

The court dismissed the cases with prejudice. The clerk was directed to terminate all pending motions and close the cases. The clerk was also directed to return, without filing, any additional documents Bonilla submitted in the closed cases. Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton signed the order.