United States v. Trenton R. Birchette

WILKINSON, Circuit Judge:

The Supreme Court held in Peña-Rodriguez v. Colorado that courts may receive evidence from jurors impeaching a jury verdict after a "threshold showing" that "racial animus was a significant motivating factor in [a] juror's vote to convict." --- U.S. ----, 137 S.Ct. 855 , 869, 197 L.Ed.2d 107 (2017). After a jury convicted Trenton Birchette of several firearm- and drug-related offenses, defendant requested leave to interview jurors for evidence of racial animus. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia denied his request. Birchette now…