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 order lists multiple case numbers, including 23-cv-1282-PJH, 23-cv-1415-PJH, 23-cv-1416-PJH, 23-cv-1575-PJH, 23-cv-1576-PJH, 23-cv-1577-PJH, 23-cv-1579-PJH, 23-cv-1580-PJH, 23-cv-1581-PJH, 23-cv-1582-PJH, 23-cv-1625-PJH, 23-cv-1627-PJH, 23-cv-1667-PJH, 23-cv-1668-PJH, 23-cv-1669-PJH, 23-cv-1670-PJH, 23-cv-1671-PJH, 23-cv-1673-PJH, 23-cv-1728-PJH, 23-cv-1729-PJH, 23-cv-1730-PJH, 23-cv-1731-PJH, and 23-cv-1732-PJH.

The court said the complaints presented nearly identical claims against various federal and state judges and county officials. The requested relief concerned Bonilla’s underlying conviction or the way his other state and federal cases had been handled. The order also noted that Bonilla had a pending federal petition challenging his conviction with appointed counsel and was represented by counsel in state-court proceedings.

Reasons for dismissal

The court addressed Bonilla’s attempts to proceed without paying filing fees. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), a prisoner who has accumulated qualifying prior dismissals generally cannot proceed without paying the fee unless the complaint shows that the prisoner faced an immediate danger of serious physical injury when the complaint was filed. The court said Bonilla had already been disqualified from proceeding without fees and that these complaints did not show such an immediate danger.

The court further stated that, even if an application to proceed without fees were granted, the lawsuits would be barred under the legal rules and precedents it cited, including rules concerning challenges to criminal convictions, interference with ongoing proceedings, and limits on federal-court review of other courts’ actions. The court therefore dismissed the cases with prejudice.

Other rulings and disposition

The court also considered the fact that Bonilla named the judge who issued this order as a defendant in one case. It concluded that the repetitive and frivolous nature of the filings did not create a reasonable question about the judge’s impartiality and did not require the judge to step aside.

Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton ordered the clerk 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.