Full opinion text
DECISION AND ORDER BIANCHINI, United States Magistrate Judge. INTRODUCTION Petitioner, Wendyll Jones (“Jones”), filed a pro se petition for a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 challenging his conviction following a jury trial on April 23, 1998, in New York State Supreme Court (Monroe County) on four counts of robbery in the second degree. Jones was sentenced to a determinate term of fifteen years in prison and is currently in custody. The parties have consented to disposition of this matter by the undersigned pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY The conviction at issue here stems from Jones’ alleged involvement in the robbery of Constance Horton (“Horton”) and Corban Rodman (“Rodman”) on June 25,1996. At about 11:15 p.m., Horton and Rodman were robbed at gun-point as they were getting into Horton’s car after purchasing dinner at Subway restaurant on Monroe Avenue in the City of Rochester. Prior to arriving at Subway, Horton had picked up Rodman from his job at the Delta Sonic Car Wash. Horton and Rodman paid for their food with a twenty-dollar bill, and received seven dollars in change (a five-dollar bill and two one-dollar bills). After they purchased their food, Horton and Rodman returned to Horton’s vehicle, which was parked in the parking lot behind subway. T.29-32, 59-60, 89-92. As Horton was unlocking the driver’s-side door, she noticed a man and a woman approaching them from Monroe Avenue, but she thought nothing of it. Horton opened the door and got in the car. Rod-man was about to get into the car on the passenger’s side when a man put a gun to Rodman’s head and demanded money. T.32, 92, 169. The woman also approached them but stayed somewhat behind the man who was demanding money from Rodman. T.169. Horton identified Jones in court as the who had approached them, and said that he was about 5'10" or 5'll"-tall; wearing a brown flannel shirt, a zipped-up sweatshirt with a hood, and dark pants; and having a goatee and mustache. T.33. According to Horton and Rodman, the gun used by the robber was unique and had an “old-fashioned” look to it. Horton passed the change she had just received at Subway over to Rodman; Jones grabbed it out of Rodman’s hand. Jones then said, “That is not all, give me the rest of the money.” T.37. Rodman handed the submarine sandwiches to Jones along with his own wallet. Jones tossed the sandwiches and the wallet to the female companion who was still standing behind them. T.37-38, 170. Jones and the woman left the Subway parking lot and entered a car parked a short distance away. T.40,172-73. After Jones and his companion entered their car, Rodman got out of Horton’s car and attempted to get the license plate number. T.174. Horton followed the perpetrators in her car until she was able to write down the license plate number, at which point she returned to Subway and called 911. T.42-45. Within minutes of hearing a 911-broad-cast regarding the robbery, Officer Carpi-nelli of the Rochester Police Department spotted the suspect’s vehicle on East Main Street in the City of Rochester. After confirming the license plate number, Officer Carpinelli activated his emergency lights in an attempt to stop the vehicle. The vehicle did not stop immediately, and Officer Carpinelli saw papers being thrown out the passenger’s-side window. The car eventually came to a stop near the corner of Railroad and Fourth Streets. T.96-99. Officer Carpinelli approached the driver’s side of the vehicle while Officer Coluc-ci, who had just arrived on the scene, approached the passenger’s side. As Officer Colucci neared the car, he saw a revolver-type gun drop from the car onto the roadway. T.125-26. Officer Carpinelli asked Jones, the driver of the vehicle, where he was coming from. Jones replied, “Subway.” T.104. Jones was then taken into custody and placed into Officer Carpi-nelli’s patrol vehicle. T.104-07. The two other occupants of the vehicle, a black man and a black woman, were also taken into custody. T.127. On the rear floor of the suspect vehicle, the officers observed two Subway sandwiches. Rodman’s wallet was found underneath the sandwiches. T.110, 130. Also located at the scene were personal papers which had been in Rodman’s wallet at the time it was stolen. T.16-21. About five minutes after placing Jones in the patrol car, Officer Carpinelli returned to the car to check on him. After opening the door, Officer Carpinelli observed seven dollars (one five-dollar bill and two one-dollar bills) on the floor by Jones’ feet. According to Officer Carpinelli, Jones was the only person in the rear of the car that evening. T.107. Within an hour of the incident, Jones was transported back to Subway for a show-up identification procedure. Horton and Rodman identified him as the person who had robbed them earlier that night. T.46, 176-77. Horton and Rodman also identified the gun dropped from the passenger’s-side door of the suspect vehicle as the weapon used by Jones during the robbery. T.34,177-78. The jury returned a verdict convicting Jones as charged in the indictment. Jones was sentenced on July 2, 1998, as a second felony offender to a determinate term of fifteen years in prison. Notice of appeal was filed on July 20, 1998. On October 7, 1998, Jones filed a pro se motion to vacate the judgment pursuant to New York Criminal Procedure Law (“C.P.L.”) § 440. 10, which was denied by the trial court on September 12, 2001. Leave to appeal the denial of the C.P.L. § 440.10 motion to the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, of New York State Supreme Court, was denied. On December 21, 2001, the Appellate Division unanimously affirmed Jones’s conviction on direct appeal. People v. Jones, 289 A.D.2d 962, 738 N.Y.S.2d 260 (4th Dept.2001). Leave to appeal to the New York Court of Appeals was denied on May 14, 2002. This timely habeas petition followed. Respondent does not raise the defense of non-exhaustion and it appears that all of Jones’ habeas claims have been fully exhausted and are properly before this Court for review. DISCUSSION Standard of Review To prevail under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, as amended by the Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (“AEDPA”) in 1996, a petitioner seeking federal review of his conviction must demonstrate that the state court’s adjudication of his federal constitutional claim resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Supreme Court precedent, or resulted in a decision that was based on an unreasonable factual determination in light of the evidence presented in state court. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1), (2); Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 375-76, 120 S.Ct. 1495, 146 L.Ed.2d 389 (2000). An “adjudication on the merits” is a “substantive, rather than a procedural, resolution of a federal claim.” Sellan v. Kuhlman, 261 F.3d 303, 313 (2d Cir.2001) (quotation omitted). Under the “contrary to” clause, “a federal habeas court may grant the writ if the state court arrives at a conclusion opposite to that reached by [the Supreme Court] on a question of law or if the state court decides a case differently than this Court has on a set of materially indistinguishable facts.” Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. at 412-13, 120 S.Ct. 1495 (O’Connor, J., concurring and writing for the majority in this part). The “unreasonable application” clause is applicable when “the state court identifies the correct governing legal principle from this Court’s decisions but unreasonably applies that principle to the facts of the prisoner’s case.” Id. at 413, 120 S.Ct. 1495. Under this standard, “a federal ha-beas court may not issue the writ simply because that court concludes in its independent judgment that the relevant state-court decision applied clearly established federal law erroneously or incorrectly. Rather, that application must also be unreasonable.” Id. at 411, 120 S.Ct. 1495. In order to grant the writ there must be “some increment of incorrectness beyond error,” although “the increment need not be great; otherwise, habeas relief would be limited to state court decisions so far off the mark as to suggest judicial incompetence.” Francis S. v. Stone, 221 F.3d 100, 111 (2d Cir.2000) (internal quotation marks omitted). Merits of the Petition 1. Erroneous sentencing of petitioner as a second felony offender Jones contends that the trial court erred when it sentenced him as a “predicate felon (second felony offender).” Petition, ¶ 22(A) (Docket No. 1). Jones explains that with respect to a prior 1993 conviction for robbery, he was a “prime candidate for youthful offender [status], and was told by trial counsel that he would indeed receive a youthful offender adjudication.” Id. On the 1993 conviction, however, he was not granted youthful offender status. When he appealed his conviction on the robbery charges at issue here, Jones contended that the 1993 conviction was unconstitutional because he had been denied the effective assistance of counsel, in that defense counsel allegedly had misled him into believing that he was going to receive a youthful offender adjudication. The Appellate Division rejected the claim as follows: Defendant contends that Supreme Court erred in sentencing him as a second felony offender because his underlying felony conviction was obtained in violation of his constitutional rights. We disagree. We reject the contention of defendant that he was denied effective assistance of counsel during the plea proceeding and at sentencing with respect to that prior conviction. As the court properly determined following the second felony offender hearing, defendant failed to meet his burden of demonstrating unconstitutionality on that ground.... People v. Jones, 289 A.D.2d at 962, 738 N.Y.S.2d 260 (internal citations omitted). In Lackawanna County District Attorney v. Coss, 532 U.S. 394, 121 S.Ct. 1567, 149 L.Ed.2d 608 (2001), the Supreme Court held that once a state conviction is no longer open to direct or collateral attack in its own right ... the conviction may be regarded as conclusively valid.... If that conviction is later used to enhance a criminal sentence, the defendant generally may not challenge the enhanced sentence through a petition under § 2254 on the ground that the prior conviction was unconstitutionally obtained. Id. at 403-04, 121 S.Ct. 1567. The Supreme Court has recognized an exception to the general rule stated above when petitioners challenge an enhanced sentence on the basis that the prior conviction used to enhance the sentence was obtained “where there was a failure to appoint counsel in violation of the Sixth Amendment, as set forth in Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, 83 S.Ct. 792, 9 L.Ed.2d 799 (1963).” Id. (noting that the “special status of Gideon claims in this context is well established” in its case law) (citing Custis v. United States, 511 U.S. 485, 496-497, 114 S.Ct. 1732, 128 L.Ed.2d 517 (1994) (The “failure to appoint counsel for an indigent [is] a unique constitutional defect ... ris[ing] to the level of a jurisdictional defect,” which therefore “warrants special treatment among alleged constitutional violations.”) United States v. Tucker, 404 U.S. 443, 449, 92 S.Ct. 589, 30 L.Ed.2d 592 (1972); Burgett v. Texas, 389 U.S. 109, 115, 88 S.Ct. 258, 19 L.Ed.2d 319 (1967))). Thus, “[w]hen an otherwise qualified § 2254 petitioner can demonstrate that his current sentence was enhanced on the basis of a prior conviction that was obtained where there was a failure to appoint counsel in violation of the Sixth Amendment, the current sentence cannot stand and ha-beas relief is appropriate.” Id. at 405, 83 S.Ct. 792 (citing United States v. Tucker, 404 U.S. at 449, 92 S.Ct. 589 (affirming vacatur of sentence that was based in part on prior uncounselled state convictions)). The foregoing cases make clear that the Supreme Court has sharply distinguished between collateral attacks to previous convictions used to enhance a sentence based on the actual failure to appoint counsel and those based on other possible trial defects, including the denial of the effective assistance of counsel. Daniels v. United States, 532 U.S. 374, 376, 121 S.Ct. 1578, 149 L.Ed.2d 590 (2001) (“[W]ith the sole exception of convictions obtained in violation of the right to counsel, a defendant has no right to bring such a challenge in his federal sentencing proceedings.”) (citing Custis, 511 U.S. at 487, 114 S.Ct. 1732) (granting certiorari to determine whether a defendant in a federal sentencing proceeding may collaterally attack the validity of previous state convictions that are used to enhance his sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act on the basis that they were the product of allegedly faulty guilty pleas and ineffective assistance of counsel; holding that a defendant has no such right unless he is asserting that his conviction was obtained in violation of the Gideon right to appointed counsel). The Supreme Court has reiterated that challenges based on ineffective counsel do not rise to the level of a constitutional defect that would permit a collateral attack on a prior conviction. Coss, 532 U.S. at 404, 121 S.Ct. 1567 (citing Daniels, 532 U.S. at 378, 121 S.Ct. 1578) (citation omitted). In the present case, it is true that Jones’ 1993 conviction in which he was denied youthful offender status was used by the prosecution as a basis for having him adjudicated as a second felony offender. This in turn enhanced his sentence under the 1998 conviction for second degree robbery. However, Jones has not challenged the 1993 conviction on the basis that there was a complete failure to appoint defense counsel. Rather, Jones argues that the 1993 conviction was unconstitutional because the counsel who was appointed to represent him did not provide the “effective assistance” to which he was entitled under the Sixth Amendment because, in effect, his trial counsel allegedly falsely informed Jones that he would receive youthful offender status. Because Jones is not claiming, and indeed cannot claim, that there was a failure to appoint counsel, he cannot invoke the Gideon v. Wainwright exception to the bar on using federal habeas to collaterally attack a prior conviction underlying a sentence enhancement. Therefore, Jones is precluded from challenging the 1993 conviction on federal habeas review on the basis that it was unconstitutional and should not have been used to enhance his sentence under the 1998 conviction. Accord Bellamy v. Fischer, No. 05 Civ. 2840(DC), 2006 WL 2051038, *6 (S.D.N.Y. July 24, 2006) (“While Bellamy’s 1990 Conviction clearly was used to enhance his sentence under his 1995 Conviction, Bellamy has not raised a challenge to the 1990 Conviction based on failure to appoint counsel. Rather, he challenges his conviction based on ineffective assistance of counsel. Hence, the exception to the bar on collaterally attacking a conviction underlying a sentence enhancement does not apply, and Bellamy cannot challenge the 1990 Conviction on grounds that it was unconstitutional and should not therefore be used to enhance his sentence under the 1995 Conviction.”). Accordingly, Jones’ sentencing claim is denied. 2. Batson violations Jones contends that the prosecutor exercised his peremptory challenges in a racially discriminatory manner and that his reasons for discharging certain black prospective jurors were pretextual. In reviewing the voir dire transcript, the Court has discovered that the prosecution exercised peremptory strikes against six (6) black jurors (Ms. Peters, Ms. Benbow, Mr. Barry, Ms. Hanna, Ms. Thompson, and Ms. Seawright); the trial court denied the peremptory strike as to Mr. Barry and granted them as to the remaining five jurors. a. The General Standard In Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 84, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986), the Supreme Court reaffirmed that a state’s purposeful exclusion of jurors based on race violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. Batson resolved certain evidentiary problems faced by defendants attempting to establish racial discrimination in the exercise of peremptory challenges and held that a defendant can establish a prima facie case of purposeful discrimination by offering evidence solely from the voir dire at his trial. Batson, 476 U.S. at 96, 106 S.Ct. 1712 (rejecting the “crippling” burden of proof imposed by Swain v. Alabama, 380 U.S. 202, 85 S.Ct. 824, 13 L.Ed.2d 759 (1965)). The Supreme Court went on to establish a three-step burden-shifting framework, akin to that employed in Title VII employment discrimination cases, for evaluating a claim that a peremptory strike was race-based. Id. at 96-98, 106 S.Ct. 1712. First, the movant — i.e., the party challenging the other party’s attempted peremptory strike — -must make a prima facie case that the nonmovant’s peremptory challenge is based on race. Id.; accord Hernandez v. New York, 500 U.S. 352, 358, 111 S.Ct. 1859, 114 L.Ed.2d 395 (1991). Next, the nonmovant must adduce a race-neutral reason for the challenge. Batson, 476 U.S. at 97-98, 106 S.Ct. 1712; Hernandez, 500 U.S. at 358-59, 111 S.Ct. 1859. At this step, the nonmovant’s burden of production in response is quite low. See Purkett v. Elem, 514 U.S. 765, 768, 115 S.Ct. 1769, 131 L.Ed.2d 834 (1995) (per curiam) (holding that in response to a Batson claim, the race-neutral reason given at step two by the nonmoving party need not be persuasive or even plausible). Lastly, the trial court must determine whether the moving party carried its burden of demonstrating by a preponderance of the evidence that the peremptory challenge at issue was based on race. Batson, 476 U.S. at 96, 98, 106 S.Ct. 1712; Hernandez, 500 U.S. at 359, 111 S.Ct. 1859. This burden remains with the moving party throughout the first two Batson steps even though the nonmovant has the burden of production at the second step; “[i]t is not until the third step that the persuasiveness of the justification becomes relevant-the step in which the trial court determines whether the opponent of the strike has carried his burden of proving purposeful discrimination.” Purkett, 514 U.S. at 768, 115 S.Ct. 1769 (emphasis in original). Batson held that to make out a prima facie case, a defendant must demonstrate that (1) he is a member of a “cognizable racial group”; (2) that the prosecutor has exercised peremptory challenges to remove from the juror venire persons of the defendant’s race; and (3) that these facts and any other relevant circumstances raise an inference that the prosecutor used the peremptory challenges to exclude potential jurors. Batson, 476 U.S. at 96, 106 S.Ct. 1712. The Second Circuit discussed the elements of a prima facie case in Overton v. Newton and the guidelines to be used by trial courts in assessing whether a party, in fact, has established the first step: To establish a prima facie case under Batson, a defendant must show that the circumstances surrounding the peremptory challenges raise an inference of discrimination. Specifically, ... [i]n deciding whether the defendant has made the requisite [primafacie] showing, the trial court should consider all relevant circumstances. For example, a “pattern” of strikes against black jurors included in the particular venire might give rise to an inference of discrimination. Similarly, the prosecutor’s questions and statements during voir dire examination and in exercising his challenges may support or refute an inference of discriminatory purpose. Overton, 295 F.3d 270, 277-78 (2d Cir. 2002) (citing Batson, 476 U.S. at 96-97, 106 S.Ct. 1712). The Second Circuit has instructed that reviewing courts must “look to the totality of the circumstances” and has noted that other circuits similarly have used a “multi-factor analysis in analyzing prima facie showings under Batson.” Harris v. Kuhlmann, 346 F.3d 330, 345 (2d Cir .2003) (quoting Tankleff v. Senkowski 135 F.3d 235, 249 (2d Cir.1998) and citing McCain v. Gramley, 96 F.3d 288, 292 (7th Cir.1996) (“Courts must look to the totality of the circumstances.”), cert. denied, 520 U.S. 1147, 117 S.Ct. 1320, 137 L.Ed.2d 482 (1997)). b. The Batson Challenge Trial Record 1.) Round One of Prospective Jurors In the first round, twenty-one prospective jurors were questioned. See T.31-84. There were seven Black jurors (Ms. Jefferson, Ms. Peters, Ms. Benbow, Ms. Hanna, Ms. Hayward, Ms. Dixon, and Mr. Barry) and fourteen jurors who were Caucasian. After the initial questioning was completed, the trial court asked if the attorneys had any challenges for cause. The prosecutor first challenged a Caucasian juror, Mr. Grieco for cause, on the basis that he had “an inability ... to understand and recall things[.]” T.84-85. The prosecutor also challenged Ms. Hayward, a Black female, for cause, because she had indicated that she was currently represented by the public defender’s office, which also was representing Jones. T.85. Finally, the prosecutor challenged for cause Ms. Benbow, a Black female, on the basis that she knew “a friend of the Defendant” and that “her sitting as a fair and impartial juror would not be the case in this [matter.]” T.86-87. Defense counsel opposed the challenge as to Ms. Benbow. He himself challenged Ms. Kenny, a Caucasian who had clearly indicated that she could not be fair; she had explained that her niece had been raped and murdered, and that the perpetrator was Black. T.87. Defense counsel also challenged Ms. Dixon, a Black female for cause; her son had been killed and she emphatically stated during voir dire, “I hate guns!” The trial court denied the challenges for cause as to Ms. Benbow and Mr. Grieco, and granted the challenges for cause as to Ms. Hayward, Ms. Dixon, and Ms. Kenny. That left five black jurors (Ms. Peters, Ms. Jefferson, Mr. Barry, Ms. Benbow, and Ms. Hanna) still in the panel of twenty-one prospective jurors. The trial court then announced that it would do peremptory challenges after the lunch recess, but the attorneys stated that they were ready at that time. Apparently, both attorneys informed the trial court of their peremptory challenges in a colloquy that was not placed on the record. T.90. When they went back on the record, defense counsel, Mr. Kasperek, made his Batson motion: Mr. Kasperek: I am making a Batson challenge on Ms. Peters. The Court: Mr. Curran [the prosecutor]. Mr. Curran: Regarding Mr. Kasperek’s making a Batson challenge, I ask the Court to take a look at the make up [of the jury], the foreperson of the jury, Mrs. Jefferson, is an African American. Obviously, Judge, there is— The Court: Ms. Peters is sitting in what seat? Mr. Curran: Number ten, Judge. The Court: Do you have the sheet? I will deny the objection for the challenge by Mr. Kasperek. T.90-91. The transcript indicates that there then was a discussion off the record. T.91. When the proceedings resumed on the record, the trial court announced as follows: “It appears that we do have one or more minority members on the jury, on the sworn jury. We have seven sworn jurors, so it would be the next five prospective jurors.” T.91. It appears that Ms. Jefferson was seated as foreperson and, because she was Black, the trial court appears to have decided that the prosecution had no racial motive in exercising a peremptory against Ms. Peters. Evidently, this was the basis for the trial court’s decision that Jones had not established a prima facie case so as to require the prosecutor to articulate a race-neutral reason for striking Ms. Peters. At that point, there was another discussion off the record. Id. Defense counsel at a later time proceeded to address the prosecutor’s other peremptory strikes, namely, the strikes as to Mr. Barry, a Black male, and Ms. Hanna, a Black female: Mr. Kasperek: Mr. Curran’s selections with respect to removing, in particular, Mr. Barry, who is number 15, and Ms. Hannah, who is number 18, I would point out to the Court and ask the Court to revisit the earlier Batson decision [with regard to Ms. Peters] that now but more [sic ] Mrs. Jefferson, all the black potential jurors have been removed from the panel, three of them by Mr. Curran for peremptory challenges. And then I have further comment, if you wish, Judge, to support my initial application, and then a response, depending on the People’s response. The Court: Mr. Curran? T.91. At this point, it would appear that the trial court agreed that Jones had set forth a prima facie case with respect to those three jurors and was looking to the prosecutor, Mr. Curran, to provide a race-neutral reason with respect to Mr. Barry, Ms. Hanna, and Ms. Peters. The prosecutor responded as follows: Mr. Curran: Well, Judge, first of all, there have been peremptory challenges, the one initial challenge was made by Mr. Kasperek, removing Ms. Dixon, so— Mr. Kasperek: That was for cause. The Court: That was for cause. Mr. Curran: I understand that, Judge. Judge, there are, again, I point out, what will be the foreperson of the jury is an African American. Mr. Barry [whom the prosecutor was attempting to strike] is of the same general age as Mr. Jones, can relate as to that respect to Mr. Jones. When questioning him, Mr. Barry did not appear to be looking — or looking in other directions. In respect to Ms. Hannah, Judge, she’s got a son that’s had numerous legal problems, she’s got a nephew that’s had legal problems. Certainly those are all race neutral reasons, Judge, that would concern me as sitting as fair and impartial juror. Quite frankly, Judge, their race has absolutely nothing to do with that. T.92. At that point, with respect to Mr. Barry and Ms. Hanna, the prosecutor had provided facially race-neutral reasons for striking them. The Court notes that even though defense counsel brought up Ms. Peters again, the prosecutor failed to articulate a reason for striking her. Defense counsel immediately addressed the reasons proffered as to Mr. Barry and Ms. Hanna and argued that they were pretextual: Mr. Kasperek: Judge, if I may, the first issue regarding Mr. Barry is pretextual, in my opinion. His age has nothing to do with his ability to deliberate. We have members of variant age who have children, they have indicated, of the same age as my client. Mr. Barry did not respond frequently to any individual questioning as based upon my observations of the jury. There were a number of individuals who, at some point, either became bored with my questions, with Mr. Curran’s questions, and although they looked away, I’m sure they weren’t bored with the Court’s questions, so the mere manner, his physical appearance is not sufficient, in my opinion to support that contention. Mr. Barry is being removed, quite obviously, because he is of the same race as my client. Miss Hannah is a black female and although Mr. Curran has put on the record that he is concerned about the fact that she has children who were involved in the criminal justice system, he raised no such concerns regarding the other jurors who had similar circumstances, Mr. Paradise, in particular, a white male, indicated that his son was charged and convicted of a crime.... There were other individual who indicated that they had relatives who were charged with crimes. So I think that that is also a pretextual response and would ask that the court deny that application. Ms. Ben-bow is the other black female who was involved. She’s indicated, that was Mr. Curran’s initial application for her was regarding a cause challenge, he offered no contentions regarding her for her removal, and in lieu of the fact he hasn’t offered any explanation regarding my initial challenge, it appears to me that the Court is obligated to find that there are no challenges and that she should be seated. T.93-94. Defense counsel then elaborated on his previously stated renewal of the Batson challenge with regard to Ms. Peters: Mr. Kasperek: Judge, I asked the Court to initial [sic] to consider its ruling regarding Miss Peters. I would indicate to the Court that Miss Peters has none of these characteristics to which Mr. Curran has related. She is a retired employee of General Motors, she is involved, and she at my recollection had — no particular inquiry was made of her regarding any circumstances. She has two children whose ages were not indicated and there was no inquiry of the circumstances regarding those children. And, in point of fact, she distinguishes herself as a member of the jury, quite frankly, and did so in all of her physical demeanor in front of the Court, so I would ask the Court to, first of all, grant my application regarding the current Bat-son challenge and revisit the application regarding Miss Peters. Thank you. T.94-95. The trial court responded, “[t]he Court denies the application to revisit the challenge to Ms. Peters.” T.95. Inexplicably, the trial court summarily denied the application to revisit the challenge to Ms. Peters; it appeared to accept the prosecutor’s previous justification for striking her, which was that there was one Black person seated on the jury (Ms. Jefferson). (The prosecutor had noted, “[A]gain, I point out, what will be the foreperson of the jury is an African American.” T.95.) With respect to Mr. Barry, the trial court stated that it was “going to disallow the [prosecutor’s peremptory] challenge” because “[t]here has not been a satisfactory neutral explanation for that challenge.” T.95. The trial court permitted the prosecutor to peremptorily challenge Ms. Hanna and Ms. Ben-bow, stating that “Miss Benbow, I believe, indicated some relationship to a close friend or to a friend of the Defendant and the other juror [Ms. Hanna] did indicate family members who had been involved with the criminal justice system[.]” Id. It appears the only peremptories exercised by the prosecutor were the strikes discussed above against four out of the five Black jurors in round one, although the trial transcript is not entirely clear on this point; the attorneys apparently informed the trial court of their peremptory challenges off the record, and the trial court then addressed any Batson objections on the record. In any event, at the end of round one, there were eight jurors seated, two of whom were Black (ie., Ms. Jefferson, not challenged by the prosecution; and Mr. Barry, challenged by the prosecution, but overruled), and six of whom apparently were Caucasian. To summarize, of the Black jurors removed at this point, two had been removed for cause (Ms. Hayward and Ms. Dixon). Three Black jurors were removed through the prosecutor’s use of peremptory strikes (Ms. Peters, Ms. Hanna, and Ms. Benbow). It appears that all of the prosecutor’s peremptory strikes were exercised against Black jurors (four out of four strikes), although one strike was denied by the trial court (ie., Mr. Barry). 2.) Round Two of Prospective Jurors In round two, there were twenty-one prospective jurors, two of whom were Black (Ms. Seawright and Ms. Thompson), and nineteen of whom apparently were Caucasian. Both Ms. Seawright and Ms. Thompson informed the trial court that they had relatives who had been convicted of crimes. Ms. Thompson’s brother had been convicted about a year and a half ago of an unnamed crime and sentenced to two to five years in prison. T.110. She stated that she was close to her brother, and that she had followed the case but had not attended the trial. T.110-11. When asked if she had any feelings about how her brother was treated in the criminal justice system that would affect her sitting as a juror, Ms. Thompson responded, “No.” T.lll. Ms. Seawright stated that “[n]ot quite a year” ago, her nephew had been accused and convicted of a crime (possession of a controlled substance). T/117-18. When asked if she were close to her nephew, she replied, “Not really. I love him, he’s my nephew, but he did the crime, he got to pay the time.” T.117. Based on Ms. Sea-wright’s statements, the judge discerned that the matter was still pending on appeal and the nephew was in prison. When asked if she had any feelings about how her nephew was treated that would affect her sitting as a juror, Ms. Seawright replied, “No, sir.” The prosecutor exercised peremptory challenges with respect to Ms. Thompson and Ms. Seawright, the only two black jurors in the second panel. Defense counsel again raised a Batson challenge: Mr. Kasperek: Well, again, Judge, my position is Mrs. Thompson is the next available black female that we get on the list and we have this recurrent issue arising every time we come to the next available black candidate. Mr. Curran: Well, Judge— The Court: Mr. Curran? Mr. Curran: I believe Ms. Thompson indicated her brother was convicted in the last year or so, is currently in state prison, she stated she was close with her brother. Clearly, that is a concern for the People. Mr. Kasperek: She also said that she felt the system acted fairly and that he was fairly treated and there was no inquiry to indicate that she would have any animosity toward the District Attorney’s Office or the system for that [sic] she could be, you know, that she would be anything but fair regarding the process. The Court: The Court— Mr. Kasperek: I would submit to you, Judge, we hear these same recurrent situations from the People regarding these issues and it’s obvious that these issues don’t come up for white jurors. The Court: The Court is satisfied by the explanation and will permit the People to exercise a peremptory. (There was a discussion off the record.) Mr. Curran: Number 12, let me just address why. Mr. Kasperek: I have to raise the challenge, first. And we are at the next black potential juror and we now have this same issue, Judge. My application continues and if this is not a pattern, nothing is. The Court: All right. Which juror? Mr. Kasperek: That would be Miss Sea-wright, Judge, No. 12. Mr. Curran: Judge, Miss Seawright indicated her nephew was convicted about a year ago of a drug charge. She believes the case is even still pending at this point in some form. He is currently in prison. Again, she says that she was — loves her nephew very much and, again, it’s the same difficulties. The Court: The Court will permit the peremptory challenge, with that explanation. T.147-48. Thus, the prosecutor was permitted to use peremptory strikes to exclude the only two Black jurors in the second panel. By the end of the second round, twelve jurors (two Blacks and ten Caucasians) and two alternate jurors (two Caucasians) had been selected. c. Adjudication on the Merits by the State Appellate Court On direct appeal, the Appellate Division dismissed Jones’ Batson claim on the merits, holding as follows: Defendant further contends that the court erred in denying his Batson challenges with respect to five prospective jurors. The court properly determined that the explanations offered by the People for their peremptory challenges with respect to four of those prospective jurors were race-neutral and not pretex-tual. The court “was in the best position to observe the prosecutor’s demeanor”, and its denial of defendant’s challenges with respect to those prospective jurors is entitled to great deference[.] With respect to the remaining prospective juror, the court properly determined that defendant failed to establish the existence of “facts and other relevant circumstances sufficient to raise an inference that the prosecution used its peremptory challenges to exclude potential jurors because of their race” and thus failed to meet his burden of presenting a prima facie case of discrimination[.] People v. Jones, 289 A.D.2d at 963, 738 N.Y.S.2d 260 (citations omitted). The “four jurors” whom the Appellate Division lumps together, without naming, are Ms. Benbow, Ms. Hanna, Ms. Thompson, and Ms. Seawright. With respect to these jurors, the trial court either found that the defense had articulated a prima facie case and requested that the prosecutor respond to the Batson challenge, or the prosecutor went ahead, without being asked, and articulated a race-neutral reason for exercising the peremptory strike. As to the remaining unnamed juror, the Appellate Division apparently agreed with the trial court’s finding that Jones failed to make out a prima facie case under Batson. Based on the Court’s review of the voir dire transcript, the fifth juror is most likely Ms. Peters, the one juror for whom the trial court did not ask the prosecutor to articulate a race-neutral reason for the peremptory strike. In Overton v. Newton, the Second Circuit clarified that the determination of whether a prima facie case of discriminatory use of a peremptory has been established is a mixed question of fact and law subject to the standard set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1). Overton, 295 F.3d at 277. Thus, in order to grant petitioner a writ of habeas corpus, this Court must determine whether the state courts unreasonably applied, see 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1)(A), the standard set forth in Batson in (1) finding that Jones failed to carry his burden of showing by a preponderance of the evidence that the peremptory challenges with respect to Ms. Thompson, Ms. Seawright, Ms. Benbow, and Ms. Hanna were based on race, and (2) finding that Jones had not made out a prima facie case with regard to Ms. Peters. See Harris, 346 F.3d at 343; Overton, 295 F.3d at 277. d. Analysis of claim regarding Ms. Peters — failure to establish prima facie case Neither the Supreme Court nor the Second Circuit has outlined with definition which factors or circumstances the trial court should consider when determining whether the party raising a Batson challenge has made a prima facie showing of discrimination in the use of peremptory challenges. Overton, 295 F.3d at 278. In Batson, the Supreme Court did not set a precise threshold to govern when a prima facie case has been established but rather directed trial courts to examine “all relevant circumstances” in deciding when a prima facie case had been established. The Supreme Court observed that the “total or seriously disproportionate exclusion” of members of a racial group from a jury venire or a “pattern” of strikes against black jurors included in the particular ve-nire might give rise to an inference of discrimination; in addition, the non-moving party’s questions and statements during voir dire examination and in exercising his challenges might support or refute an inference of discriminatory purpose. Batson, 476 U.S. at 93-94, 96-97, 106 S.Ct. 1712; see also Johnson v. California, 545 U.S. 162, 125 S.Ct. 2410, 2417, 162 L.Ed.2d 129 (2005) (holding that a prima facie case under Batson only requires “evidence sufficient to permit the trial judge to draw an inference that discrimination has occurred”); accord Tankleff v. Senkowski, 135 F.3d 235, 249 (2d Cir.1998) (stating that “courts should consider how many members of the cognizable racial group are in the venire panel from which the petit jury is chosen, the pattern of strikes against racial group jurors in the particular venire, the prosecutor’s statements and questions during selection, as well as any other relevant circumstances”; so holding in the context of a challenge under Powers v. Ohio, 499 U.S. 400, 415, 111 S.Ct. 1364, 113 L.Ed.2d 411 (1991), which held that a defendant may raise a Batson challenge whether or not the defendant and the excluded jurors share the same race); Overton, 295 F.3d at 277-78. Batson makes clear, however, that the examples listed are “merely illustrative.” Batson, 476 U.S. at 97, 106 S.Ct. 1712; Overton, 295 F.3d at 278 (“Other than through these illustrative examples, the [Supreme] Court has not, to date, provided a more particularized view of what constitutes a prima facie showing of discrimination under Bat-son.”) The Second Circuit has observed that “[c]ourts have used a ... multi-factor analysis in analyzing prima facie showings under Batson, ” which requires an examination of “the totality of the circumstances.” Harris, 346 F.3d at 345 (citations omitted). After examining the statistics revealed, by the available voir dire record, the Court notes the prosecutor did not strike all of the Black jurors and apparently did not challenge the seating of one black juror, Ms. Jefferson. Based on what this Court can glean from the voir dire transcript, it appears that there were forty-two potential jurors. Nine of those jurors were identified as being Black. The prosecutor challenged seven out of the nine Black jurors by means of six peremptory challenges and one for-cause challenge; defense counsel challenged one Black juror for-cause. It appears that the prosecution’s peremptory minority challenge rate was four peremptories in the first round (Ms. Benbow, Ms. Hannah, Mr. Barry, and Ms. Peters). In the second round, the prosecutor exercised two per-emptories against the only two Black jurors in the panel. It appears, although it is difficult to say for certain, that these were the only two peremptories used by the prosecutor in this round. The Court discerns that, by the end of jury selection, the prosecutor had used six of his available fifteen peremptory challenges against Black jurors. The minority challenge rate is calculated using the total number of peremptory strikes available, not the number of strikes actually used by the prosecutor. See United States v. Alvarado, 891 F.2d 439, 444 (2d Cir.1989) (“Alvarado I ”), vacated on other grounds, 497 U.S. 543, 110 S.Ct. 2995, 111 L.Ed.2d 439 (1990); Barbara v. Goord, 2001 WL 1776159, *3; n.' 2 (“In nine rounds of jury challenges, the prosecution exercised nine of its fifteen available challenges, or 60% against black jurors.... Although the prosecutor only exercised a total of eleven peremptory challenges, N.Y.Crim. Proc. Law § 270.25(2)(b) (McKinney 1993) entitled him to fifteen challenges. In United States v. Alvarado, 891 F.2d [at] 444 ..., the Second Circuit ruled that a prosecutor’s percentage of minority challenges should be calculated by considering waived as well as exercised challenges”). In Jones’ case, therefore, one obtains a minority challenge rate of 40% (six peremptory challenges used against Blacks out of fifteen available peremptories). Absent discriminatory intent, a prosecutor would be expected to exercise peremptory challenges against minority jurors in roughly the same percentage as their representation in the venire; “[o]nly a rate of minority challenges significantly higher than the minority percentage of the venire would support a statistical inference of discrimination.” United States v. Alvarado, 923 F.2d 253, 255 (2d Cir.1991) (“Alvarado II”). Where a challenge rate is “significantly higher” than the minority percentage of the venire, statistics alone can “strongly support[ ]” a prima facie claim of discrimination. Id. at 255-56 (concluding that a prosecutor’s use of 50% of its peremptory challenges against minority members who composed approximately 29% of the venire evidenced prima facie discrimination; “We think a challenge rate nearly twice the likely minority percentage of the venire strongly supports a prima facie case under Batson.”) see also Tankleff v. Senkowski, 135 F.3d at 249 (holding that fact that the government tried to strike the only three blacks who were on the panel constituted a “sufficiently dramatic pattern of actions” to make out a prima facie case) (citing, inter alia, see McCain v. Gramley, 96 F.3d at 292 (“[Wjhere there are only a few members of a racial group on the venire panel and one party strikes each one of them,” the inference of discrimination may arise)). Looking at the foregoing statistics in context, one can discern that the minority challenge rate of 40% was nearly twice the percentage of minorities comprising the jury venire (21.4%). Thus, there was a substantial statistical disparity in the percentage of peremptory strikes against Blacks compared to the percentage of Blacks comprising the venire, and the prosecutor apparently only used its peremptory strikes against minority jurors— the confluence of these factors certainly would seem to satisfy a minimal standard. See Anderson v. Superintendent, Elmira Corr. Facility, 360 F.Supp.2d 477, 494-95 (E.D.N.Y.2005). After all, the Second Circuit has described the defendant’s prima facie burden to be “minimal” and “similar to that placed on plaintiffs in Title VII and equal protection jurisprudence.” Overton, 295 F.3d at 279 n. 10. Despite the minimal showing needed to satisfy the prima facie burden, the circuit courts, including the Second Circuit, have only twice granted habeas challenges under the unreasonable-application prong of AEDPA when a trial court has failed to find a prima facie case and implement the second prong of Batson. See id. at 495 (comparing Harris, 346 F.3d at 346 (granting habeas where prosecutor used peremptories against all five blacks in the venire) and Brinson v. Vaughn, 398 F.3d 225, 232 (3d Cir.2005) (granting habeas where prosecutor used thirteen of fourteen peremptories against blacks) with Overton, 295 F.3d at 279 (denying habeas when prosecutor struck seven of ten qualified blacks in the first two rounds, including all five blacks in the second round)). These Second Circuit cases illustrate the circuit’s reluctance to grant habeas relief for violations occurring at the first Batson step except in the rarest of cases. Nevertheless, the Court is of the opinion that Jones might have had a meritorious Batson claim with regard to Ms. Peters, even under AEDPA’s restrictive unreasonable-application standard, in large part because of the stark disparity in the pattern of strikes against black jurors compared to the pattern of strikes against white jurors. See id. However, fatal to Jones’ claim is the failure of defense counsel to articulate all the relevant facts and circumstances in support of the Batson challenge. This is the factor that tips the scale against finding “unreasonableness” in the state court’s disposition of petitioner’s Batson claim with respect to Ms. Peters — the stiff requirement placed on defense counsel to adequately develop the voir dire record so as to provide a context for evaluating statistics. See Overton v. Newton, 295 F.3d at 279-80. In Overton, the district court had granted a writ of habeas corpus based on petitioner’s Batson claim; the prosecutor in that case had exercised seven out of ten challenges against Black prospective jurors. In making the Batson claim, Over-ton’s trial counsel merely noted that by her “rough count,” the prosecutor had exercised seven of nine peremptory challenges against Blacks after the first two rounds of jury selection. See Overton v. Newton, 146 F.Supp.2d 267, 271 (E.D.N.Y. 2001), rev’d, Overton, 295 F.3d at 279. The trial judge rejected the claim summarily. Later that day, the judge identified the races of the members of the first two panels and whether each had been excused for cause, struck by use of a peremptory challenge, or seated as a juror. Id. However, the Batson claim, which had been made before the racial make-up of the two panels had been established on the record and before jury selection was complete, was never renewed. Overton, 295 F.3d at 279. Noting that petitioner “[bears] the burden of articulating and developing the factual and legal grounds supporting his Batson challenge before the trial court,” the Second Circuit held that “[b]ecause this was not done, the trial judge never confronted, and the trial record does not reveal, what the statistics would have shown at the conclusion of jury selection.” The circuit court went on to note that if those statistics “sufficiently-established the inference” that the prosecutor’s challenges were based on race, the trial judge “could then have implemented the Batson process to ensure that impermissible challenges were not allowed.” Id. Applying the AEDPA “unreasonable application” standard, the Second Circuit held that “on th[e] record, the trial judge’s refusal to implement Batson’s process for testing each questioned challenge midway in the process was [not] an unreasonable application of the Batson requirements.” Id. at 280. Here, defense counsel reiterated his challenge to Ms. Peters once during the first round of jurors; however, he did not renew it during the second round of jury selection or after jury selection had been completed. Moreover, defense counsel failed to articulate and develop the relevant information to place the number of peremptory challenges exercised against Blacks in a meaningful context. When raising the issue the second time regarding Ms. Peters, defense counsel did not mention statistics; rather, he argued that Ms. Peters had “none of the characteristics” which the prosecutor had articulated as being cause for concern (e.g., personal knowledge of a friend of the defendant, having a close relative who had been convicted of a crime). While this is a relevant consideration, it was insufficient to comply with the requirements of Overton. When defense counsel raised his Batson challenge in the second round, with regard to Ms. Seawright and Ms. Thompson, he merely said, “[W]e have this recurrent issue arising every time we come to the next available black candidate.” T.145-46. Cf. Harrison v. Ricks, 326 F.Supp.2d at 380 (holding that defense counsel failed to adequately develop the record pursuant to Overton where she merely stated that the prosecutor had exercised four out of five peremptory challenges against African-Americans). Defense counsel said that it was “obvious” that the same issues “don’t come up for white jurors” but failed to articulate the pertinent statistics. It is true that the relevant statistical information can be extrapolated from the voir dire transcript, but defense counsel missed the opportunity to support his claim by making a complete record before the trial judge of, for instance, the total racial composition of the panels (21.4% of the jurors were black); the fact that the prosecutor peremptorily challenged six out of the nine Black jurors (66.7%); and the fact that at the time the issue of Ms. Peters was raised a second time, the prosecutor had exercised six of his available peremptories, all of which appeared to be against Black jurors. The Court notes that defense counsel cogently developed the argument that there was no reason for the challenge to Ms. Peters other than race. However, because the statistical component of the Batson claim was not well developed, the trial court was not presented with a “complete picture.” Moreover, defense counsel missed the opportunity to argue that the failed peremptory challenge of Mr. Barry could be considered circumstantial evidence of the prosecutor’s improper motive in challenging Ms. Peters and, for that matter, all black jurors. For all of these reasons, and in light of the deferential standard under which it must operate, the Court is reluctantly compelled to conclude that the trial court was not objectively unreasonable in failing to implement the Batson process with respect to Ms. Peters. See Harrison v. Ricks, 326 F.Supp.2d at 380 (rejecting a Batson claim-despite it being renewed after jury selection-due to defense counsel’s failure to articulate and develop the relevant statistical information to place the number of peremptory challenges exercised against potential Black jurors in a “meaningful context”), aff'd mem., 150 Fed.Appx. 95 (2d Cir.2005); Williams v. Burge, No. 04 CIV. 2590(PKC), 2005 WL 2429445, at *6 (S.D.N.Y. Oct.3, 2005); Rodriguez v. Greiner, 2004 WL 2781720, at *6-*7 (S.D.N.Y. Dec.3, 2004) (rejecting a Batson claim based on a state court conviction because petitioner failed to “fully establish the trial record” by renewing his Batson claim after jury selection); Overton, 295 F.3d at 279 (denying habeas when prosecutor struck seven of ten qualified blacks in the first two rounds, including all five blacks in the second round). Nevertheless, the Court grants a Certificate of Appealability; Jones has made a “substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right” pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2) because the question of whether he has sufficiently articulated a prima facie case under Batson is “adequate to deserve encouragement to proceed further.” See Lucidore v. New York State Div. of Parole, 209 F.3d 107, 112 (2d Cir.2000) (“[A] ‘substantial showing’ does not compel a petitioner to demonstrate that he would prevail on the merits, but merely ... that the questions are adequate to deserve encouragement to proceed further.”) (citations and quotations omitted; alterations in original); accord Anderson v. Superintendent, Elmira Corr. Fac., 360 F.Supp.2d at 496 (finding that petitioner had articulated meritorious pri-ma facie case under Batson-, denying ha-beas relief under AEDPA because trial court’s refusal to find prima facie case not unreasonable given the failure of defense counsel to fulfill his evidentiary burden, but granting a certificate of appealability). e. Batson challenges with regard to remaining four jurors Because the prosecutor turned to the second step of Batson by offering reasons for striking Ms. Hanna, Ms. Benbow, Ms. Seawright, and Ms. Thompson as soon as defense counsel raised a challenge with regard to them, Batson’s step one is not at issue here. See Hernandez, 500 U.S. at 359, 111 S.Ct. 1859. “The Supreme Court has held that the prima facie case of discriminatory intent becomes irrelevant to the analysis of a peremptory challenge once the trial court proceeds to the second and third steps as it did here.” McKinney v. Artuz, 326 F.3d 87, 98 (2d Cir.2003) (citing Hernandez, 500 U.S. at 359, 111 S.Ct. 1859) (“Once [the nonmoving party] has offered a race-neutral explanation for the peremptory challenges and the trial court has ruled on the ultimate question of intentional discrimination, the preliminary issue of whether the [moving party] had made a prima facie showing becomes moot.”). At the second Batson step, the prosecutor may not simply deny that he had a discriminatory motive or affirm his good faith. Batson, 476 U.S. at 97, 106 S.Ct. 1712. Rather, he must “articulate a neutral explanation related to the particular case to be tried.” Id. at 98, 106 S.Ct. 1712. As the Supreme Court later held, the explanation need not be “persuasive, or even plausible,” and may even be silly or superstitious, provided that it does not deny equal protection on its face. Purkett v. Elem, 514 U.S. at 768, 115 S.Ct. 1769. The reasons proffered by the prosecutor were all facially neutral; he stated that he struck Ms. Hanna, Ms. Seawright, and Ms. Thompson because each had a close relative who had been convicted of a crime, and that he struck Ms. Benbow because she knew, on a personal level, a friend of the petitioner’s. At the third and final step, the trial court is called upon to determine whether the opponent of the strike has carried his burden of proving “purposeful discrimination.” Batson, 476 U.S. at 98, 106 S.Ct. 1712. At this step, the trial court’s analysis will focus on the credibility of the attorney exercising the peremptory challenge. Hernandez v. New York, 500 U.S. 352, 365, 111 S.Ct. 1859, 114 L.Ed.2d 395 (1991) (“In the typical peremptory challenge inquiry, the decisive question will be whether counsel’s race-neutral explanation for a peremptory challenge should be believed.”). See also Galarza v. Keane, 252 F.3d 630, 636 (2d Cir.2001) (“[A] trial court may not deny a Batson motion without determining whether it credits the race-neutral explanations for the challenged peremptory strikes.”); Jordan v. Lefevre, 206 F.3d 196, 200 (2d Cir.2000) (“[T]he third step of the Batson inquiry requires a trial judge to make an ultimate determination on the issue of discriminatory intent based on all the facts and circumstances.”). With regard to Ms. Hanna and Ms. Ben-bow, the trial judge said, “I shall permit the peremptory challenge,” citing Ms. Ben-bow’s “relationship to a close friend of to a friend of the Defendant” and Ms. Hanna’s indication that she had “family members [who] had been involved with the criminal justice system[.]” T.95. There is no doubt- and Jones has not attempted to argue otherwise — that the trial judge credited the race-neutral explanations proffered by the prosecution to defend its strikes against these four jurors. Although the trial judge did not render that conclusion in haec verba, he is not required to do so. See Galarza v. Keane, 252 F.3d at 640 n. 10 (“Our holding should not be read, however, as requiring a talismanic recitation of specific words in order to satisfy Batson. This may well have been a different case if the trial court’s review of Galarza’s Batson challenges culminated in a general crediting of the prosecutor’s race-neutral explanations or possibly even if the trial court had merely stated that it rejected each of Galarza’s Batson claims.”); see also Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 347, 123 S.Ct. 1029, 154 L.Ed.2d 931 (2003) (“We adhere to the proposition that a state court need not make detailed findings addressing all the evidence before it” in addressing a Batson challenge.). The trial court’s determination of purposeful discrimination is a factual finding that is entitled to appropriate deference by a reviewing court. See Batson, 476 U.S. at 98 n. 21, 106 S.Ct. 1712 (citing Anderson v. Bessemer City, 470 U.S. 564, 570, 105 S.Ct. 1504, 84 L.Ed.2d 518 (1985) (Title VII finding of intentional discrimination is a factual finding entitled to deference)). “It is not until the third step that the persuasiveness of the justification becomes relevant — the step in which the trial court determines whether the opponent of the strike has carried his burden of proving purposeful discrimination.” Purkett, 514 U.S. at 768, 115 S.Ct. 1769. The task of assessing the prosecutor’s proffered race-neutral explanations so as to determine the ultimate issue of whether discrimination has been shown “falls primarily upon the judicial officer conducting the jury selection, whose determinations as to credibility of the proffered explanations are entitled to ‘appropriate deference’ .... ” United States v. Alvarado, 951 F.2d 22, 25 (2d Cir.1991) (quoting Batson, 476 U.S. at 98 n. 21, 106 S.Ct. 1712). “When circumstances suggest the need, the trial court must undertake a ‘factual inquiry’ that ‘takes into account all possible explanatory factors’ in the particular case.” Batson, 476 U.S. at 95, 106 S.Ct. 1712 (quoting Alexander v. Louisiana, 405 U.S. 625, 630, 92 S.Ct. 1221, 31 L.Ed.2d 536 (1972)). Under AEDPA’s standards for reviewing factual determinations, Jones has the burden of showing that (1) the state court’s finding regarding the credibility of the prosecutor’s explanation was incorrect by clear and convincing evidence; and (2) the corresponding finding was unreasonable given the evidence presented. See Miller-El, 537 U.S. at 348, 123 S.Ct. 1029. With respect to the three jurors who were struck because they had relatives or family members who had been involved with the criminal justice system (Ms. Hanna, Ms. Thompson, and Ms. Sea-wright), defense counsel argued that the prosecutor’s discriminatory motive was evidenced by the fact that he did not strike Mr. Paradise, a white male whose son had been charged with and convicted of a crime. Jones’ attorney challenged the prosecutor’s explanation for these strikes, arguing that the facially race-neutral explanation proffered by the prosecutor was pretextual because a non-black venireper-son who also had a relative in prison was not struck from the jury pool. The uneven application of a facially race neutral explanation does not, by itself, necessarily establish the invalidity of the explanation. Owens v. Portuondo, 1999 WL 378343, *11 (citing Matthews v. Evatt, 105 F.3d 907, 918 (4th Cir.) (“Batson is not violated whenever two veniremen of different races provide the same responses and one is excused