Sara Granda could not have expected this.

Paralyzed from the neck down, Granda graduated in May from the UC Davis School of Law and for months has been preparing for the bar examination. The exam is scheduled for Tuesday, yet she’s already fighting her first opponent.

Last week, the State Bar told Granda she was not properly registered for the exam and could not take the exam. The problem, according to the bar, is its web site never processed Granda’s application for the test because the State Dept. of Rehabilitation paid her $600 fee with a check rather than Granda using a credit card online.

It’s completely absurd that the bar won’t allow Granda to take the exam because she paid with a check (obviously, they never took Economics 101 and learned a check is a form of currency). Even stranger is seeing a state department not accept money at a time when it so desperately needs it.

Governor Schwarzenegger appears to feel the same way:

“It is outrageous that someone who has overcome so much in life is penalized by a bureaucratic error that prevents her from taking the bar exam next week. Government should work for the people, not against them and I’m calling on the state bar to allow Sara Granda to take next week’s test. Sara is a fighter and I am with her all the way.”

If there’s one thing I learned in basic law courses, it’s that law is more than bureaucratic procedures. It is based on morals and principles. Hopefully the bar will practice what it examines, do the right thing, and give Sara her chance to take the exam.