"Justices are a more diverse group than the lawyers who argue at the Supreme Court."

"In roughly 75 hours of arguments at the Supreme Court since October, only one African-American lawyer appeared before the justices, and for just over 11 minutes."

The numbers were marginally better for Hispanic lawyers. Four of them argued for a total of 1 hour, 45 minutes.

Women were better represented, accounting for just over 17 percent of the arguments before the justices.

In an era when three women, a Hispanic and an African-American sit on the court and white men constitute a bare majority of the nine justices, the court is more diverse than the lawyers who argue before it.

"Three women, a Hispanic and an African-American" is a funny turn of phrase to describe a set of 4, not 5, persons.

Anyway, this is so not surprising. Court appointments are made by Presidents in a swirl of political theater. There's a sizable set of individuals capable of doing good work as Supreme Court Justices. How could a President resist making the final pick in a manner that boosts himself politically (and/or makes it hard for his political opponents in the Senate to say "no")?

But when your case is on the line in the Supreme Court, why would you indulge in political gestures (other than to cause the Justices to gravitate toward your position)?