Sounds cool. I'll keep a lookout.

I'm a trial lawyer. I wear a suit about half the time, khakis the rest. I use several different breifcases, and have to go in and out of courthouses all the time. I grew up outside, and can't stand to go 'naked.'

For quite a while now I have carried a little kit to move things back and forth from briefcase to case, and to quickly 'sanitize' myself before going into a courthouse. I always carry a folding knife in my waistband. If its a khaki day, I carry a Leatherman newmodel Wave with a metal match and a folding straight razor in the elastic sides.
I always carry a Zippo (yeah, I know). Key chain with LM Micra and Photon III, and fob made of 10' of gutted para cord.

The current kit is a Spec-Ops Dry Cell. In the mesh pockets in front are an Inova X5, a Benchmade Mini-Ambush, an original (as in first MONTH of production) Leatherman, and SAK Scout.

Inside in two OmniSeal double wallets is:

Side 1:
Bobbin 80# SpiderWire
Bobbing #69 black nylon thread
pencil lead case with 6 assorted needles
P-38
Spark Lite and 4 Tinder Quicks
flat LED keychain light from CountyComm

Side 2:
4 Immodium
4 Pepcid
4 Sudafed
6 200mg ibuprophen
2 cloth adhesive bandages
2 antibiotic ointment packs
2 benzoylkonium wipes
4 1/4" steri strips
#10 scalpel blade
splinter picker tweezer

Side 3:
15' .034 stailess wire
mini-Bic (hate those things - no adjustable flame
Bunton button compass
6 finishing nails
20' mason's cord
soda straw segment packed with pet. jelly & cotton

Side 4:
4 large safgety pins
folding straight razor (CountyComm)
flat whistle
3" 18g hypo needle
6 lifeboat amtches & striker strip
wallet size fresnel lens

small zip lock with:
4 sq. ft. foil
4 stainless steel cable leaders
6 zippy-strips
6 screw eyes

Also:
30' REAL para cord
6' duct tape
Bunton clip on compass
adjustable flame lighter
In a quart zip lock:
bandana
2 50 gal barrel liners

The whole mess wieghs about a pound and transfers from briefcase to briefcase, and can be taken out and left in the car when I have to clear security.

Pretty impressive kit, alas, you are without it in the courthouse since you have to pass through security. Do you keep anything in a smaller kit that will go through security [minus the bladed items?]

Not these days. You would not believe how tight the Federal Marshals are. They make the air police look like kindergarden teachers. Yeah, it does amke me nervous. I've got some titanium and reinforced nylon 'tools' but I don't want to risk it. Losing them to confiscation is the least of. If you go to such lengths to 'infiltrate' a federal facility, you have made out a prima facie case of 'intent' for them.

It is very sad what we have come to in this country -- the terrorists won, we have no freedom anymore - - we are now the suspects

Terrorists didn't really win. They provided a convenient excuse to take away certain inconvenient rights complicating various government and law enforcement jobs. The people taking our rights have always lusted after them, just couldn't get 'em until now. Thing is... we gave them up, they didn't really take them.

I think it's inevitable. Cyclic, too, hopefully. We have a country full of people who have no idea what it's like to _lose_ personal freedom. They're finding out. Absent another terrorist attack, it'll be interesting to see how long this lasts.

In a way they did, we have given up much freedom for the illusion of being safe, and we are no safer 4 years later and billions of taxpayer dollars wasted. I agree, the government is always taking freedom in cheez-it size bites that hardly anyone notices, but the terrorists gave them a reason to take our freedom in KFC size buckets and those freedom losses, we can see daily.

randjack, that's one impressive kit.

re courthouses, have been there and agree. i also think groo raised a good point ... can't blame the marshals ... they're doing as instructed. doing otherwise would only land them in red tape hell and possibly cost them the their jobs.

i covered federal courts for a while when i was a reporter; maybe we're just lucky in the Midwest, but the marshals, FBI, postal, IRS and ATF guys i used to see all the time we're good, down-to-earth people who worked in the surreal world of the US Govt. Also, the 3 judges in our courthouse were indeed honorable.

there's still some good folks in government.

but, goodness, it was scary how much investigative and attorney power the feds could employ once they decided to go to trial. ... and the rules of the court and the sentencing guidelines (since tossed or hugely revised) seemed, to an educated layman, stacked in the prosecution's favor moreso than in state court. i know i never want the feds in my sock drawer.

still, these are the musings of a wandering mind, which has wandered off-topic. my bad.

Thank you for your kind words about my kit. Any suggestions are welcome. I've worked at it, sort of.

The fed gov scares the sh*t out of me. They have so damn much power that once they set their site on you, you might as well move to Spain. And this is from a supposed "insider."

RE. CH security, they did not get tight after 9.11, they got tight after Oklahoma City.

Randjack,

You have a nice briefcase kit there. I'm in the same situation. But I think your kit is a lot lighter and more compact than mine. I'll rethink mine.

Time for an anecdote,
About 20 years ago, a colleague was in trial in Federal Court. During the trial, he realized he had forgotten some documents. He telephoned his secretary during a break. She hurriedly gathered the document and rushed them to the courthouse. Unfortunately, she forgot to remove her revolver from her purse.

The secretary was hassled for an hour. Amazingly, both she and her revolver were then released (after her the intervention of her boss). No charges were pursued.

Times have seriously changed.

John