United States v. Purcell

U NITED S TATES A IR F ORCE C OURT OF C RIMINAL APPEALS UNITED STATES ) No. ACM 40763 Appellee ) ) v. ) ) ORDER Lannery L. PURCELL ) Staff Sergeant (E-5) ) U.S. Air Force ) Appellant ) Panel 1 On 6 June 2026, counsel for Appellant moved this court for leave to file a motion for remand and the motion to remand to correct omissions in the record of trial (ROT); specifically, (1) the final, corrected Statement of Trial Results, dated 5 August 2024,1 and (2) Convening Order A-12.

On 15 June 2026, the Government opposed the motion to remand and asked this court “to permit the Government to attach the omitted documents in lieu of remanding the record to the trial judiciary.” On this same date, the Government moved this court to attach the above two documents and a declaration by an assistant staff judge advocate in lieu of remanding the record of trial. We rule on this motion before the 7-day opposition period expires. See JT. CT. CRIM. APP. R. 32.

Rule for Courts-Martial (R.C.M.) 1112(b),2 provides, inter alia, “[t]he record of trial in every general and special court-martial shall include . . . [a] copy of the convening order and any amending order,” and “The Statement of Trial Re- sults . . . .” R.C.M. 1112(b)(3), (6).

“A record of trial found to be incomplete or defective before or after certifi- cation may be corrected to make it accurate.” R.C.M. 1112(d)(2). A Court of Criminal Appeals “may return a record of trial to the military judge for correc- tion under this rule. The military judge shall give notice of the proposed correc- tion to all parties and permit them to examine and respond to the proposed correction.” Id. Department of Air Force Instruction (DAFI) 51-201, Administra- tion of Military Justice, ¶ 21.15 (24 Jan. 2024), reinforces that “[a] defective or

1 Appellant’s motion inadvertently states, “On 5 August 2026 the military judge signed a corrected copy of the STR.”

2 All references in this opinion are to the Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 ed.).

United States v. Purcell, No. ACM 40763 incomplete ROT is corrected in accordance with R.C.M. 1112(d). A Certificate of Correction is prepared and certified by the military judge detailed to the case.”

Therefore, we return the record of trial back to the Chief Trial Judge, Air Force Trial Judiciary, in order to include the missing final, corrected Statement of Trial Results and Convening Order A-12 into the record of trial.

Accordingly, it is by the court on this 17th day of June, 2026, ORDERED: Government’s Motion to Attach, dated 15 June 2026, is DENIED.

Appellant’s Motion for Leave to File and Motion for Remand, dated 6 June 2026, is GRANTED.

Appellant’s case is REMANDED to the Chief Trial Judge, Air Force Trial Judiciary, to correct the record by inserting the missing final, corrected State- ment of Trial Results and Convening Order A-12 into the record, and to ensure the remainder of the record is complete.

Thereafter, the record of trial will be returned to this court not later than July 2026 for completion of its appellate review under Article 66, UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. § 866.

If the record cannot be returned to the court by that date, the Government will inform the court in writing not later than 7 July 2026 of the status of the Government’s compliance with this order.

FOR THE COURT

CAROL K. JOYCE Clerk of the Court