Bonilla

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

BONILLA, Case No. 19-cv-06678-VC (PR) Petitioner, ORDER DISMISSING PETITION FOR

WRIT OF MANDAMUS WITH

v. PREJUDICE

Plaintiff Steven Wayne Bonilla, a state inmate, has filed a pro se document entitled, “In re: to the matter of Steven Wayne Bonilla being represented by court appointed counsel,” in which he argues the California case, In re Barnett, 31 Cal. 4th 466 (2003), unconstitutionally violates his First Amendment right to redress his grievances. The Clerk of the Court designated this case as a petition for a writ of mandamus. In Barnett, the California Supreme Court held that capital inmates who are represented by counsel cannot file pro se submissions to the court, to the extent the submission challenges or pertains to the legality of the death judgment. Id. at 477. The Court excepted from this rule a pro se motion regarding the inmate’s legal representation. Id. at 477 n.7. The gravamen of Bonilla’s petition is his dissatisfaction with his legal representation in his state court criminal proceedings and in his federal court habeas proceedings. …