My colleague Brendan Kearney’s article today on a play about Thurgood Marshall, being staged by Maryland judges, reminded me of the last time I saw the nation’s first black Supreme Court justice.

It was June 27, 1991, in the court’s ceremonial East Conference Room. Marshall, who had recently announced his retirement from the high court, was holding a farewell news conference.

The tone of the session was set with Marshall’s response to the first question from the press. “How do you feel?” the reporter asked, amid speculation that the justice was stepping down because of his health.

“With my hands,” Marshall replied without skipping a beat.

He later answered the reporter’s question more directly: “I’m getting old and falling apart.”

Marshall died 19 months later at age 84.

Happy Monday! Here are some law links to start your day:

• Did you know it’s legal to marry your first cousin in Maryland? Legislators, including the powerful head of the House Judiciary Committee, want to change that.
• The ever-fiery Page Croyder says district court judges are handsomely compensated for doing not much work. Anyone want to respond to her allegations?
• It was really tough to get a job as an associate at a top law firm in 2009, even if you were graduating from an excellent law school.
• It’s four years to the day since Clarence Thomas’ last question at oral arguments. A new paper argues that his silence hurts the court and his own reputation.
• Last Wednesday, an Iowa prosecutor returned from a lunch break in a murder trial with ash on his forehead. The defense attorney objected, saying it might sway the jury, the judge agreed, and the prosecutor wiped it off. Thoughts?
• The lady who crusaded against dog poop on the streets of New York, leading the city to enact a pooper-scooper law, has died at age 99. Sounds like she was a real pistol.