Tarra Simmons will be allowed to sit for the Washington state bar exam following a decision late last week by the state's top court.

The Washington Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Nov. 16 that Simmons, a former nurse and convicted felon, could sit for the test, finding that the Seattle University School of Law graduate “has the requisite moral character and fitness to practice law in the State of Washington,” according to the ABA Journal.

Simmons' battle for the bar has been a hard-fought one.

She enrolled in law school in 2014 after a 20-month stint in prison for drug and theft convictions. Simmons, who did not return a request for comment this week, spoke with The American Lawyer earlier this year about her addiction to prescription drugs and amphetamines after the death of her father in 2010. A year later, she was charged and pleaded guilty to felony theft and drug possession and was sentenced to nearly two years in state prison.

After enrolling in law school in Seattle, Simmons was selected in December 2016 as one of 30 recipients of the prestigious Skadden Fellowship, an award funded by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom that allows law school graduates to spend two years working on improving legal services for the poor. In her American Lawyer interview, Simmons said she planned to use her fellowship at the Seattle-based nonprofit Public Defender Association to help those with convictions overcome barriers to re-entering society.

However, Simmons' hopes for a legal career hit a snag in April when the Washington State Bar Association ruled against allowing her to take the bar exam. A month later, Simmons appealed that decision to the Washington Supreme Court.

Handling her appeal was Shon Hopwood, an associate professor at Georgetown University Law Center who like Simmons also happens to have once served time in prison.

Hopwood, whose stunning career trajectory was noted in October by CBS's “60 Minutes,” spent more than a decade in prison after being sentenced at 22 in 1999 for his involvement in several armed bank robberies. While in prison, Hopwood taught himself the law and became a de facto jailhouse lawyer for fellow inmates. On his release in 2008, he got a job in the legal field and was eventually accepted to the University of Washington School of Law.

After passing a character and fitness review by the Washington state judiciary, Hopwood passed the bar and received a federal clerkship in Washington, D.C., before landing a tenure-track professorship at Georgetown earlier this year.

Tarra Simmons will be allowed to sit for the Washington state bar exam following a decision late last week by the state's top court.

The Washington Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Nov. 16 that Simmons, a former nurse and convicted felon, could sit for the test, finding that the Seattle University School of Law graduate “has the requisite moral character and fitness to practice law in the State of Washington,” according to the ABA Journal.

Simmons' battle for the bar has been a hard-fought one.

She enrolled in law school in 2014 after a 20-month stint in prison for drug and theft convictions. Simmons, who did not return a request for comment this week, spoke with The American Lawyer earlier this year about her addiction to prescription drugs and amphetamines after the death of her father in 2010. A year later, she was charged and pleaded guilty to felony theft and drug possession and was sentenced to nearly two years in state prison.

After enrolling in law school in Seattle, Simmons was selected in December 2016 as one of 30 recipients of the prestigious Skadden Fellowship, an award funded by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom that allows law school graduates to spend two years working on improving legal services for the poor. In her American Lawyer interview, Simmons said she planned to use her fellowship at the Seattle-based nonprofit Public Defender Association to help those with convictions overcome barriers to re-entering society.

However, Simmons' hopes for a legal career hit a snag in April when the Washington State Bar Association ruled against allowing her to take the bar exam. A month later, Simmons appealed that decision to the Washington Supreme Court.

Handling her appeal was Shon Hopwood, an associate professor at Georgetown University Law Center who like Simmons also happens to have once served time in prison.

Hopwood, whose stunning career trajectory was noted in October by CBS's “60 Minutes,” spent more than a decade in prison after being sentenced at 22 in 1999 for his involvement in several armed bank robberies. While in prison, Hopwood taught himself the law and became a de facto jailhouse lawyer for fellow inmates. On his release in 2008, he got a job in the legal field and was eventually accepted to the University of Washington School of Law.

After passing a character and fitness review by the Washington state judiciary, Hopwood passed the bar and received a federal clerkship in Washington, D.C., before landing a tenure-track professorship at Georgetown earlier this year.