Purcell received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Oklahoma. Purcell received her Juris Doctor from the Oklahoma City University School of Law in 1986 and was admitted to the Oklahoma Bar Association in 1986. Purcell is a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association, Cherokee Nation Bar Association, and is licensed to practice before the United States District Courts for the Northern and Eastern District of Oklahoma and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Purcell was previously the Executive Director of the Cherokee Nation Gaming Commission, Adjunct Professor at Northeastern State University, and maintained a law practice which included practice in the fields of Indian law, Family law, Wills, Trust and Probate and Criminal law.
Fourth district judge on the bench for Cherokee Nation