Armour (sic)-CAAF-Grant

Wednesday, March 4, 2026
Order Granting Petition for Review
 
No. 26-0116/AF. U.S. v. Kenneth P. Armour II. CCA 2025-10. On consideration of the petition for grant of review of the decision of the United States Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals on appeal by the United States under Article 62, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 U.S.C. § 862, it is ordered that said petition is hereby granted on the following issue:
 
WHETHER THIS COURT SHOULD AFFIRM THE MILITARY JUDGE'S SUPPRESSION RULING BECAUSE INFORMATION GAINED FROM MULTIPLE UNLAWFUL SEARCHES AFFECTED LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENTS' DECISION TO SEEK A SEARCH AUTHORIZATION AND THE SEARCH AUTHORITY'S DECISION TO GRANT IT.
 
Pursuant to C.A.A.F. R. 19(a)(6)(A), no further pleadings will be filed.

The AFFCA opinion in United States v. Armour, __ M.J. ___ (A.F. Ct. Crim. App. 2025) is here, addressing a Government appeal under UCMJ art. 62.

The military judge granted Appellee’s motion to suppress “searches and seizures of [his] person, deployed residence, electronic devices, email transmissions and any fruits of such searches.” The Government moved for reconsideration arguing that the military judge incorrectly concluded that the independent source doctrine was inapplicable to this case and that he incorrectly applied the exclusionary rule to the evidence in question. The military judge denied the reconsideration motion. The Government appealed the ruling of the military judge with regards to the application of the independent source and the exclusionary rule.

We need not address the military judge’s application of the exclusionary rule because we find that the military judge held an erroneous view of the law in his application of the independent source doctrine to the facts of this case. Hence, his suppression of the evidence was an abuse of discretion.

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