Bonilla v. Santa Clara County Superior Court

Background

Steven Wayne Bonilla, described as a state prisoner and a condemned prisoner, filed multiple nearly identical civil-rights complaints without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The listed related case numbers were 23-cv-2507-PJH, 23-cv-2745-PJH, 23-cv-2746-PJH, 23-cv-2747-PJH, 23-cv-2776-PJH, 23-cv-2847-PJH, and 23-cv-2890-PJH. The complaints named various federal and state courts as defendants and sought relief concerning Bonilla’s underlying conviction or the handling of his other cases.

The order noted that Bonilla had a pending federal petition challenging his custody in the same court, where he had appointed counsel, and that he was represented by counsel in state-court proceedings. The order did not decide the merits of the claims raised in these civil-rights cases.

Filing-fee waiver

To the extent Bonilla sought permission to proceed without paying the filing fee, the court applied 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). That provision generally disqualifies a prisoner from proceeding without the filing fee after qualifying prior cases, unless the prisoner was in imminent danger of serious physical injury when the complaint was filed. The court found that Bonilla’s allegations did not show imminent danger at the relevant time and therefore ruled that he could not proceed without the filing fee.

Other stated bars and disposition

The court further stated that, even if a filing-fee application 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 provide a separate claim-by-claim explanation of which cited bar applied to which complaint.

Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton ordered that the cases be dismissed 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 further documents Bonilla submitted in the closed cases.