The Supreme Court on Monday refused to consider the case of a convicted murderer who graduated from law school and is being thwarted in his efforts to become a practicing attorney in Arizona.

James Hamm served 17 years in prison after pleading guilty to murdering a man in a drug-related robbery. Both victims in the 1974 shootings were unarmed. Last year, the Arizona Supreme Court denied Hamm’s application to practice law, saying he had failed to establish the good moral character necessary to be admitted.