Bonilla v. The People of the State of California

Background

Steven Wayne Bonilla, a state prisoner, filed multiple self-represented civil-rights complaints under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The order lists 14 related case numbers. Bonilla is described as a condemned prisoner who had a pending federal petition challenging his custody with appointed counsel and was also represented by counsel in state-court proceedings.

The complaints presented nearly identical claims and named various state courts and agencies as defendants. The order states that Bonilla sought relief concerning his underlying conviction or the way state and federal courts handled his other cases.

Filing-fee restriction

To the extent Bonilla sought permission to proceed without prepaying the filing fees, the court held that 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) disqualified him from doing so unless he showed that he faced an imminent danger of serious physical injury when he filed the complaints. The court cited Bonilla's prior proceedings and found that the allegations did not show such danger. The court therefore held that he could not proceed without prepaying the filing fees.

Other legal bars

The court further stated that, even if an application to proceed without prepaying the fees 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 order did not decide the underlying validity of Bonilla's claims; it dismissed the cases based on the filing restriction and these threshold legal bars.

Ruling

The court dismissed the cases with prejudice. It directed the clerk to terminate all pending motions and close the cases. It also directed the clerk to return, without filing, any further documents Bonilla submitted in the closed cases. The order additionally noted Bonilla's extensive history of filing similar cases and described the undersigned judge's prior orders involving cases filed by him.