Bonilla v. Smiley

Background

Steven Wayne Bonilla, identified as a state prisoner and a prisoner under a death sentence, filed multiple self-represented civil-rights complaints under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The complaints were nearly identical. They named various state courts and judges as defendants and sought relief concerning Bonilla’s underlying conviction or the way state and federal courts handled his other cases.

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

Filing-fee status

To the extent Bonilla sought permission to proceed without paying filing fees, the court held that 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) disqualified him from that status 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. The opinion therefore concluded that Bonilla could not proceed without paying the filing fees.

Other barriers and ruling

The court further stated that, even if an application to proceed without paying filing fees were granted, the lawsuits would be barred under the authorities it cited: Heck v. Humphrey, Younger v. Harris, Demos v. U.S. District Court, and Mullis v. U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The opinion did not provide a separate analysis of how each authority applied to each complaint.

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