Bonilla v. Lake County Superior Court

Background

Steven Wayne Bonilla, identified as a state prisoner and a condemned prisoner, filed multiple civil-rights complaints under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 without a lawyer. The complaints presented nearly identical claims, named various federal and state judges and court officials as defendants, and sought relief regarding courts. The opinion also states that Bonilla had a pending federal petition in another case with appointed counsel and was represented by counsel in state-court proceedings.

Filing-fee status

Bonilla sought, or potentially sought, permission to proceed without paying the filing fee. The court held that he was disqualified from doing so under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), unless he was in immediate danger of serious physical injury when he filed the complaints. The court found that the allegations did not show such danger at the time of filing, so Bonilla could not proceed without paying the filing fee.

Other procedural barriers

The court further stated that, even if a filing-fee application were granted, the lawsuits would be barred under several doctrines and statutes. These included a rule limiting civil-rights claims that would undermine an existing conviction, a rule requiring federal courts to refrain from interfering with certain ongoing state proceedings, and rules concerning challenges to court proceedings and judicial actions. The court did not decide the underlying merits of Bonilla’s claims.

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. The court also addressed recusal, concluding that the repetitive and frivolous nature of the filings did not provide a basis to question the undersigned judge’s impartiality. Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton signed the order.