DAFMAN 51-203: RECORDS OF TRIAL

DAFMAN 51-203 — index record

Number	DAFMAN 51-203
Title	RECORDS OF TRIAL
Published	April 21, 2021
Certified current	April 21, 2021
Guidance memorandum	July 14, 2026
Office of primary responsibility	AF/JA
Issued by	Headquarters, Department of the Air Force
Status on the index	Current
Last index action	GM, July 14, 2026
Source index	Air Force e-Publishing
Index last read	October 20, 2026

Copied from Air Force e-Publishing (index). The publication itself is the authority; this page does not summarize or interpret it. Verify the current edition on the index before acting.

From the publication itself

Text below is lifted mechanically from the official PDF (43 pages, read October 20, 2026) with no editing or interpretation. Quote the document, not this page.

Purpose, in the publication’s words

This manual establishes Department of the Air Force procedures for the preparation and assembly of ROTs, ROT attachments, and ROT allied papers. Standardization ensures ROTs, ROT attachments, and ROT allied papers meet basic legal requirements while adequately preserving the court-martial proceedings for appellate review. Article 54 requires that a ROT be prepared in each general, special, and summary court-martial. Rule for Courts-Martial (R.C.M.) 1112 identifies the content of the ROT and the contents attached to the ROT for post- sentencing and appellate review.

Summary of changes, as printed

This document has been substantially revised and must be completely reviewed. Major changes include removal of guidance for preparation of Records of Trial in cases referred prior to 1 January 2019, removal of non-mandatory templates, clarification of Military Justice Act of 2016 application to Records of Trial, and update of references to include application to the United States Air Force and the United States Space Force.

Chapter 2—ASSEMBLING RECORDS OF TRIALp. 9
Chapter 3—CERTIFYING THE TRANSCRIPT AND THE RECORD OF TRIALp. 14
Chapter 4—COPYING THE RECORD OF TRIALp. 18
Chapter 5—NUMBER OF COPIES OF THE RECORD OF TRIALp. 19
Chapter 7—ABBREVIATED RECORDS OF TRIALp. 24
Chapter 8—RECORDS OF TRIAL FOR SUMMARY COURTS-MARTIALp. 25
Chapter 10—DISPOSITION OF EVIDENCE MAINTAINED BY LEGAL OFFICESp. 30
Chapter 11—COURT-MARTIAL TRANSCRIPTSp. 31
Chapter 12—VERBATIM TRANSCRIPTSp. 34
Chapter 13—SUMMARIZED TRANSCRIPTSp. 36
Chapter 14—DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COURT REPORTERp. 38
Attachment 1—GLOSSARY OF REFERENCES AND SUPPORTING INFORMATIONp. 46

All 120 contents entries

1.1. Purposep. 7
1.2. Referencesp. 7
1.3. Roles and Responsibilitiesp. 7
1.4. Record of Trialp. 7
1.5. Effective Dates and Impact on ROT Assemblyp. 8
Chapter 2—ASSEMBLING RECORDS OF TRIALp. 9
2.1. Organization of Record of Trialp. 9
2.2. Exhibitsp. 9
2.3. Marking Exhibitsp. 11
2.4. Dividing Record into Volumesp. 12
2.5. Binding Volumesp. 12
2.6. Dividersp. 13
2.7. Including the Article 32 Reportp. 13
2.8. Audio Recordingsp. 13
2.9. Record of Pre-Referral Proceedingsp. 13
Chapter 3—CERTIFYING THE TRANSCRIPT AND THE RECORD OF TRIALp. 14
3.1. Requirements for Timely Processing of R.C.M. 1106 and 1106A Mattersp. 14
3.2. Convening Authority Decision on Actionp. 15
3.3. Examination by the Military Judgep. 15
3.4. Entry of Judgment and Certification of the ROTp. 15
3.5. Cases Involving Multiple Court Reportersp. 15
3.6. Examination of the Transcript by Counselp. 15
3.7. Certification of the Transcriptp. 16
3.8. Incomplete, Defective, or Lost Record of Trialp. 16
3.9. Certificate of Correctionp. 16
Chapter 4—COPYING THE RECORD OF TRIALp. 18
4.1. One-Sided Copiesp. 18
4.2. Double-Sided Original Documentsp. 18
4.3. Evidence That Should Not Be Copiedp. 18
4.4. Special Considerationsp. 18
Chapter 5—NUMBER OF COPIES OF THE RECORD OF TRIALp. 19
5.1. Paper ROTsp. 19
5.2. Digitized ROTsp. 19
5.3. Identical Copies Requiredp. 19
5.4. The number of ROTs required is based upon the nature of the review:p. 19
5.5. Copy Provided to Defense Counselp. 19
5.6. Copy Provided to Accusedp. 19
5.7. Copy Provided to Victim(s)p. 20
5.8. Additional Discretionary Copiesp. 21
6.1. Cases Subject to Review Under Article 66p. 22
6.2. Cases Subject to Review Under Article 65p. 22
6.3. Article 69 review is accomplished by JAJIp. 22
6.4. Cases Subject to Review Under Article 64p. 23
6.5. Forwarding ROTsp. 23
6.6. Remandsp. 23
6.7. Shipping ROTsp. 23
Chapter 7—ABBREVIATED RECORDS OF TRIALp. 24
7.1. ROT Requiredp. 24
7.2. Assemblyp. 24
7.3. Distributionp. 24
7.4. Cases Not Arraignedp. 24
7.5. Retrial on Dismissed Chargesp. 24
Chapter 8—RECORDS OF TRIAL FOR SUMMARY COURTS-MARTIALp. 25
8.1. DD Form 2329p. 25
8.2. Certification of the SCM ROTp. 25
8.3. Preparing the Record of Trialp. 25
8.4. Number of Copies of the SCM ROTp. 25
8.5. Service of SCM ROTp. 25
8.6. Forwarding SCM ROT for Post-Trial Reviewp. 26
8.7. Certificate of Correctionp. 26
9.1. Procedures for Classified Materialsp. 27
9.2. Procedures for Controlled Test Materialsp. 27
9.3. Procedures for Sealed Materialsp. 28
9.4. Procedures for Closed Hearing Materialsp. 29
9.5. Procedures for Sexually Explicit Materialsp. 29
Chapter 10—DISPOSITION OF EVIDENCE MAINTAINED BY LEGAL OFFICESp. 30
10.1. Exhibits Maintained by Legal Officesp. 30
10.2. Return of Propertyp. 30
10.3. Contrabandp. 30
10.4. Conflicting Ownership Claimsp. 30
Chapter 11—COURT-MARTIAL TRANSCRIPTSp. 31
11.1. Verbatim and Summarized Transcriptsp. 31
11.2. Required Formatp. 31
11.3. Electronic Trial Transcriptsp. 33
11.4. Dispositionp. 33
11.6. Court-Martial Sessionsp. 33
11.7. Reconveningp. 33
11.8. Summary Courts-Martialp. 33
11.9. Article 30a Pre-Referral Hearingsp. 33
11.10. Retrial on Dismissed Chargesp. 33
11.11. Article 66(f)(3) Proceedingsp. 33
11.12. Rehearingsp. 33
Chapter 12—VERBATIM TRANSCRIPTSp. 34
12.1. Generallyp. 34
12.2. Stricken Portionp. 34
12.3. Testimony Through an Interpreterp. 34
12.4. Non-Response by a Witnessp. 34
12.5. Non-Verbal Responses and Gesturesp. 34
12.6. Transcribing Quotes into the Recordp. 34
12.7. Court Reporter Reads the Recordp. 34
12.8. Video or Audio Recordingsp. 34
12.9. Other Magnetic or Digital Mediap. 35
12.10. Instructionsp. 35
12.11. Insubstantial Omissionsp. 35
Chapter 13—SUMMARIZED TRANSCRIPTSp. 36
13.1. Generallyp. 36
13.2. Article 39(a) Sessionsp. 36
13.3. Verbatim Portionsp. 36
13.4. Video or Audio Recordingsp. 36
13.5. Other Magnetic or Digital Mediap. 36
13.6. Summarized Voir Direp. 36
13.7. Miscellaneous Examples for Summarized Transcriptsp. 36
Chapter 14—DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COURT REPORTERp. 38
14.1. Generallyp. 38
14.2. Definitionsp. 38
14.3. Neutrality of the Court Reporterp. 38
14.4. Court Reporter Recessesp. 38
14.5. Interruption of Proceedingsp. 38
14.6. Recording Administrative Proceedingsp. 38
14.7. Recording Other Judicial Proceedingsp. 38
14.8. Depositionsp. 39
14.9. Pre-Trial Hearingsp. 39
14.10. Article 66(f)(3) Hearingsp. 39
14.11. Contingent Confinement Hearingsp. 40
14.12. Courts of Inquiryp. 40
14.13. Court Reporter Certificationp. 40
14.14. Timeliness Goalsp. 40
14.15. Court-Martial Exhibitsp. 40
14.16. Safeguarding Recordings, Exhibits, and Evidencep. 41
Attachment 1—GLOSSARY OF REFERENCES AND SUPPORTING INFORMATIONp. 46

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DAFMAN 51-203

DAFMAN 51-203 — index record

From the publication itself

Purpose, in the publication’s words

Summary of changes, as printed

Contents

Other DAFMAN publications nearby in the series