Lawyer Apologizes for ‘Beans in a Jar’ Comment

A Texas lawyer defending a voting rights lawsuit has apologized for writing a brief that said the plaintiffs’ method of estimating Hispanic voter numbers is like guessing the number of "beans in a jar."

Some Hispanics took issue with the comment, noting that “beaner” is a derogatory term for people of Mexican dissent, the Dallas Morning News reports.

Lawyer C. Robert Heath said he wasn’t familiar with the slur and apologized for the reference.

"It was just an analogy, and obviously it was ill chosen because it was offensive to some persons," he told the newspaper. "That was entirely unintentional, and I apologize for it."