Jury-"idk there's a lot of evidence against him, and he doesn't really have any proof regarding his alibi" Clay-"Lemme tell ya somethin brotha" Jury-"not guilty"
And that's precisely why juries are a big joke. A relic from a bygone era that should have been discarded. If he did this in my country, his silver tongue would have amounted to nothing in this situation.
people want to forgive you gotta give reason. also people hate when the government goes after people known for helping people. old time street politicians like Clay Davis know. you put money back out in the community to help those in need. they will fight to the bitter end for you.
Clay Davis is hilarious. He won't kill your family or anything brutal, but he'll con you, rip you off and bullshit you in any way he wants and get away with it smiling.
Clay Davis is a legend on this show. The man has a platinum tongue, not silver, but platinum.. brilliant how he played into the jury. The way he finessed Stringer, was exceptional- to the point he wanted Clay Davis hit. Lol
Clay was brilliant especially hooking the Jury with his Survivor reference, Also turning back on the prosecutor intimating he grew up middle class and does not have any connection with poor people in Baltimore. Then amazingly he goes and says he is going to do the same thing he is in court for now over again. Prosecutor Bond brought a knife to a gunfight and Clay Davis brought a M-60.
It's really well done, having him hook them in with TV references - it's just hard for me to imagine someone getting off the hook when they're staring down that cement of a case
It's easy to convince the people that always vote for you to take your side. The Feds would laugh at Clay Davis right before they announce his sentence.
@@vicshephard9231 That's exactly why the case should've gone to the Feds. Bond keeping it a local case exemplifies everything wrong with Baltimore in The Wire: he just wanted to make a name for himself instead of doing what was right.
In reality the prosecution would be getting Clay to tell them the names and/or locations of ANYONE he supposedly gave this charity to in a deposition. Okay you don’t have receipts but can you find someone to testify and provide evidence you gave them money for their arthritis meds or bail or school clothes?
1:24 Probably my favorite part of a great and hilarious scene is when Davis derisively refers to Bond as "Prosecutor O-bond-a." The fifth season of The Wire was made in 2007, and began airing in January 2008. At that time, it was generally understood that Barack Obama -- of Highland Park, Chicago, even more highfalutin than Roland Park near Baltimore -- was an upper-class black candidate whose base was among well-off white liberals. The great majority of black people, especially working-class and poor black people, favored Clinton. That only changed after the Iowa caucuses in January 2008.
This is what happens when the facts don't matter. They had Clay dead to rights on the facts of the case! Cult of personality won over. Collectively, people are stupid.
This man's boss music sounds like non-threatening smooth R&B. Your health bar never lowers the fight. The crowd just applauds and you leave frustrated and ashamed.
FRANK SOBOTKA (another Clay Davis victim) said it best when he said.... "Ya know what the problem is Brucie... we used to make shit in this country. BUILD shit. Now we just stick our hand in the next guy's pocket." Frank Sobotka, a dying breed of American men. (hands down the most tragic character of the series)
Yeah, that must suck. Once upon a time, only the private unions were ripping off business owners. Now everyone on the Left is doing it, just to pay off the public sector unions.. And with no one making things in the US, there's practically nothing left for our local socialists to steal anymore. It's sad.
Clay Davis was as slimy and corrupt as it gets--but you HAVE to give his character his due--MAN he knew how to work it and spit some SERIOUS political game. One slick SOB!!!
This was funny how he managed to con the whole courtroom. He was among the guiltiest most selfish people on the whole show and he managed to make himself look like one of the worlds most benevolent selfless people in the world, lol.
Notice how he addresses the jury directly, adjusts his vernacular accordingly along with casual use of profanity, brilliantly manufacturers an "us vs. them" scenario (including his own lawyer in the "them"). He even references popular reality television to endear himself to the "common man" even further. And he IS Clay Davis...
The black jury voting to keep him free didn't realize that he was the cause of most of their problems. As so often people look outside their own group for scapegoats without realizing that the true problem often lies within.
I love how he says if they find him not guilty, and let him walk free, he's going to go right back to doing what he was doing (that is, being more crooked than a bedspring), and keep doing it until they 'truck him up to Mt Auburn'. He literally doublespoke his way into applause for being unapologetically corrupt. This is high art!
*This was beautifully done. And it emphasizes the importance of semantics and understanding your audience. What Isiah Whitlock Jr. did here in presenting Clay Davis as the true conman that he is by using a range of emotions (laughter, sincerity, melancholy, hope, etc)...was credit to his acting abilities. Clay Davis is symptomatic of many corrupt senators who study their environment and know how to succeed in that environment. If Clay Davis could say whatever he wanted and be truthful, he would have said in his standard white voice (instead of the black vernacular he projected here): "Sheeeeiit, I don't care about you people. I became a senator to enrich myself. I don't care about you peasants. Yeah I stole a lot of money because I'm smart. You people are dumb. I have never given to the community because you are all hopeless. I'm entitled to this money and I will continue to make myself ricer so I can stay from this Baltimore slum." Had he said all that, he would have been in prison so quick.*
After all the police work they’ve done to prove his crime he gets away with it with some cheap populism...this fucking TV show is more realistic than real life itself
And what’s sad is that tryna bring him down trumped 22 dead bodies (good to know - Cedric Daniels) and it led to mcnulty pulling the shit he did with the serial killer to try and ultimately bring Marlo down.
I realize just now that this character deserves his own serie like "Better Call Saul". He's not the only one in this serie (Omar, Mozon, etc..), in every show they should prepare another potential serie for a mysterious, a funny or a interesting character.
You could catch Clay Davis stealing your car, run up on him ready to throw hands and then he starts explaining himself. By the time he gets done talking he would’ve convinced you that you gave him the car.
As always, The Wire is spot on about the corrupted system. The saddest part is that people continue to fight each other over people who don't care about them. When the rich pass laws, it’s the poor who fall victim to its interpretation. And when the powerful wage war, it’s the weak who die.
This was some of the most brilliant acting ever. Peep notice how the lawyer and Clay Davis acting scene counter acted with each other. At first you would think Clay Davis Lawyer was prosectuing him. Such brilliant writing. Please bring the wire back
I know this is an 11 year old comment but his lawyer is actually a real Baltimore lawyer. His name is Billy Murphy Jr. and he's playing himself in this scene. He's one of the best defense attorneys in Maryland. A bunch of the credit for this scene goes to him because he knows how to do a convincing direct examination.
Shiiiiiiiiit!!! I can't believe I've done it again! Every time I see this clip I go and donate a pile of cash to Clay Davis. I know he's only a TV character, but he's just so damn believable. Bloody silver tongued devil!
This is so sad. I'm always blaming the politicians for the state of affairs in my country (South Africa) but this also sheds the light on our share of the blame. We are too quick too forgive their corruption, an eloquent speech and all is well, we'll re-elect you again.
It's definitely laughable and completely ridiculous lol. Man said all the money from the donations that ended up in his personal account was ALL being used to help people in the neighborhood with random problems That is such horseshit that no one should believe but he tells the story in such a charismatic and confident way that he makes it sound believable
This why the jury system is shit. Justice should be served by people who have studied law, not random citizens who can be moved by passionate speeches.
+thestranger4812 It's not shit just because people don't have law degrees. The real reason this case failed, and Clay Davis wasn't subsequently put behind bars, is because of a man with a law degree. If State's attorney Bond had taken Freamon's advice, taking the "headshot" case federal, they would have got their man. But that guy with the law degree wanted something for himself on the way to justice, watering down the prosecution's case to suit his own ends, therefore resulting in it's failure to secure a guilty verdict. Also, the jurors weren't necessarily "moved by passionate speeches". All they're being told is Clay Davis has taken drug money. They haven't been presented with any evidence that Davis was using this money for personal gain (which is what Freamon could show with his "headshot"). A senator redistributing money from the drug trade that has blighted their city to community projects and helping law abiding citizens is probably music to their ears. The Judge is there to guide the juror on matters of the law, likewise the prosecution and defence, it is the role of the juror to be moral arbiters. To decide not whether something is legal, but to decide whether they agree with conviction on the basis of said law. It is a pivotal tradition in Anglo Saxon common law; the idea that even if a law is on the statute books, and even if it was passed through democratic assembly, you still had the additional check and balance that this law had to be tested by a jury of the people, who had to live by said law, ensuring it would continue to be tested throughout time. "If the jury have no right to judge of the justice of a law of the government, they plainly can do nothing to protect the people against the oppressions of the government; for there are no oppressions which the government may not authorize by law." - Lysander Spooner, American abolitionist and political philosopher.
+Fox McCloud - Two hundred years ago it may have been true, when common people with common sense could understand and apply law, the judge was needed just to oversee the procedure. But nowadays, when laws have become simultaneously abstract and concrete, they have become too difficult to understand a situation for the everyman. Professionals are not just needed, but required apply the law. Professional jury or lawyers... but America needs its system to move on from how it may have been 240 years ago.
+andrew7taylor I completely disagree in this specific case and I disagree in part with your general point. In this specific case I think the jury did it's job perfectly; they judged the morality of the case as they saw it. They judged that it was, in their eyes, a moral deed to take drug money from drug dealers and funnel it into projects that would help their community. Only we, the viewer, knew that Clay Davis was taking drug money to enrich himself and only spent a few here and there on good causes to cover for his corruption. The prosecution did not provide any evidence to back up their claim that Clay Davis was personally benefiting from this money. Therefore it came down to the prosecution's word against Clay Davis', and the jury rightly acquitted on the basis of reasonable doubt. And on jury trial in general I would agree that if you only want to enforce the law then you would restrict jury duty to only those people that understand the law. But as I said above this is not the original purpose of the jury.
No, the jury did not do their job perfectly. And the prosecution did provide evidence. What part of "money from charity being deposited into personal bank account" isn't evidence. To be perfectly honest, transferring money from charity funds to your own bank account IS ILLEGAL regardless of whether you're doing it to do a better job than the charity fund. So even if Clay wanted to help his community with the money, he technically did do something illegal, and should have been prosecuted for it. And to be perfectly fair, the jury did become emotionally susceptible to Clay Davis' charismatic personality and his warm speech about community service and brotherhood. The Jury is meant to judge evidence without bias, not be warmed by the talks of brotherhood by a fellow African American. I strongly think that the Jury should be half citizen, half professionals with thorough understanding of the law. It's the only way to make it fair.
As much as i could say about S5....moments like this... Pearlman vs Levy "My name is my name!" That final montage with McNulty.... Man. Nothing like it....
absolute incredible actor tho. Just think how well he's convinced you of his character, and here convinces you that the character is a great liar and actor..... some next level shit.
This 1 Scene shows everything That i personally can't stand about politicians And he is a despicable bastard, But God Damn is Clay Davis a great character
I love the look on Clay's face just before this scene when he's walking up the court's steps; he goes from toothy grinned confidence to arse collapsing worry in one swift move. He's such a great character. Would I vote for Clay Davis? Hell yeah...Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-yit!
we need more men like Clay Davis out there helping people with puff coats and paying for the asthma doctor. God bless him
dis nigga watched the show and was still convinced clay davis is the 🐐 ong
@@HO-vt5pk I wish my rep was Clay Davis, instead I have a swamp monster.
@@newerest1 he is the swamp monster
I’d vote for Clay. I watched the whole show but this scene got me
paying for gas and electric bills too, BGE can get expensive during winter
Jury-"idk there's a lot of evidence against him, and he doesn't really have any proof regarding his alibi"
Clay-"Lemme tell ya somethin brotha"
Jury-"not guilty"
Sheeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiit!!!!!
Same fucking thing with the OJ Simpson case lol
Alibi? When I hit the corner of Mosher and Penn, you better believe my pockets are bulging but by the time I get the Roberts street prrrrppptttt
Absoleet A
Yep. Senator Clay raped the prosecution team with that one.
People are so stupid, they'll believe any story if it's told well.
You know how good Clay is at this? I know what he did. I've seen it. But at the end of this speech, I believed him.
Lmao
I believe him yo.. I don't know why but I do
He nearly broke down in tears. The man clearly loves his job and freedom to the point where he's prepared to do whatever it takes
@Jared Dowty Well that courtroom doesn't know what the audience knows..
It would never work on a federal jury
I love how he basically admits to committing numerous crimes and even says he will keep doing it, but manages to walk away free.
Fr, my man pretty much committed to wire fraud and convinced the jury it was for their benefit😂
And that's precisely why juries are a big joke.
A relic from a bygone era that should have been discarded. If he did this in my country, his silver tongue would have amounted to nothing in this situation.
Yeah, it happens all the time 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
people want to forgive you gotta give reason. also people hate when the government goes after people known for helping people. old time street politicians like Clay Davis know. you put money back out in the community to help those in need. they will fight to the bitter end for you.
@@MrBell-iq3smfuck that that’s justice FUCK THE SYSTEM
Clay Davis is so smooth, he could talk Wee-Bey outta his pit sandwich and potato salad.
HAHA
Outta tater salad, how about slaw?
“We outta horseradish too but how bout it”
I dunno about that... He would probably roll his eyes at him like he did at that other guy when he told him that they were out of potato salad.
NAHHHHH.
I know he's lying, but I believe him. That's charisma.
😭😭😭ong
Facts!
😆🤣😂😆🤣😂😆. I'm Done
Now THAT is how you create reasonable doubt
He’s like a pro wrestler
"Whatever it is they don't teach it in law-school."
So true.
Pimpin.
W Brown Finesse
W Brown professional assholeism
Donald Trump has it too. For better/worse.
Can confirm, lol
I love how he turns on his black vernacular when the jury is mostly black and then turns it off when he's around white people.
Forehead2Brick That's how the game is played. Only use it when culturally relevant to do so.
It's called code switching ;)
"Playing the race card? some people have no shame" Clay Davis
This is why Namond is going to be another Clay Davis,we've seen Namond do the same type of thing
hes doing that Tyrion Lannister
Clay Davis is hilarious. He won't kill your family or anything brutal, but he'll con you, rip you off and bullshit you in any way he wants and get away with it smiling.
Omar uses a shotgun and robs drug dealers, Clay Davis uses a brief case and robs citizens......shiiiiiiiiiiiiit
Always loved that line from Omar. People think gangs and criminals who wear are different, but they only go about their criminality in different ways.
yeah one is violent and the other is not.
@@DrNickRiveria violence takes many forms
A professional confidence man makes his victims become his most ardent defenders
One of *the best con artist* in tv history.....sheeeeeeat!!
Sheeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaat
Yeah...people like him had better watch their back. Clay doesn’t know how close he came to catching a bullet (from Stringer)
Better call saul
Clay Davis or his attorney Billy Murphy?!
I hated this nigga fr lol good acting
No show ever comes close to the horror that is "The Wire". All other shows are fictional but this is real life and it hits hard. It hits really hard.
Absolutely. No horror movie comes even close to the raw horror of the real world.
@Mark Green "Hi my name is Mark Green and I think disliking something popular makes me special and gives me an actual personality"
The sopranos
@@hooknoseskinny1742 I’m actually watching the sopranos right now. Just finished season 3 today. It’s great but it’s no wire so far.
@@sprawlz6466 it’s all about opinions but most would say sopranos.
This scene was the freaking greatest. Clay Davis just emulated most of the politicians on capitol hill
Man clay Davis could talk a Muslim into eating pork
HA! yuuuuuuuup, he sure did saved that silver tongue bullshit for the jury
😂😂😂😂
+Jermaine Whitaker sheeeeeeeeeeeeiiitttt
+Jermaine Whitaker Muslims and Jews dont eat pork.
+Ciaron Smith oh really
I love that phony emotional quiver he puts on his voice.
“... the same daaamn day...”
great acting
That's what they didn't teach in law school lol
Obama and Bill Clinton does this.
Preacher Clay. Sounds just like the frauds in the pulpit
the MLK voice lmao
"welll excuse me if i didnt ask that old arthur-ritis woman for a receipt" tooo much lol
“Until they got me laaaaaiiiiid out” 😂
😂😂😂😂
That was just perfect lol
@@jamesj9537 Dude sounded like a Church pastor when he said that 😂
Clay Davis knows the easiest trick in the book: if you can make them laugh, you already won.
Trump
clay the biggest gangster of the series
Biggest punk
Klorg Lork it's all in the game tho
then levy is 2nd
myjeepgoSCURRRR Tough call between those 2. Both human garbage.
God
Clay understood that very simple but powerful maxim: "They'll never remember what you say, but they'll never forget how you make them feel".
" I mean I want to believe you, I'm your lawyer" HAHAHHAHA omfg that was brilliant.
Clay Davis is a legend on this show. The man has a platinum tongue, not silver, but platinum.. brilliant how he played into the jury. The way he finessed Stringer, was exceptional- to the point he wanted Clay Davis hit. Lol
To be honest, not even someone on his level could do that. Its easy to get into a poor raised communities ear and tell them a bunch of sweet nothings.
@@axx012 yup, that's a pretty common practice in Latin América. All winning candidates do that
He finessed the shit outta String…and was talking shit about it in season 5 like it wasn’t no thing. Clays the illest
Clay was brilliant especially hooking the Jury with his Survivor reference, Also turning back on the prosecutor intimating he grew up middle class and does not have any connection with poor people in Baltimore. Then amazingly he goes and says he is going to do the same thing he is in court for now over again. Prosecutor Bond brought a knife to a gunfight and Clay Davis brought a M-60.
A masterclass in charisma
It's really well done, having him hook them in with TV references - it's just hard for me to imagine someone getting off the hook when they're staring down that cement of a case
Reasonable doubt in court is a hell of a thing if you can lay it on convincingly.
It's easy to convince the people that always vote for you to take your side. The Feds would laugh at Clay Davis right before they announce his sentence.
@@vicshephard9231 That's exactly why the case should've gone to the Feds. Bond keeping it a local case exemplifies everything wrong with Baltimore in The Wire: he just wanted to make a name for himself instead of doing what was right.
“Save that silver tongue bullshit for the jury”….
Clay did that and did it well.
lol
State's Attorneys Pealman and Bond had a 20 degree day.
LOLOLOL!!!
That''s some old school "The Wire" shit there! String at his best.
Dr. Kevin Moore naw it's Stranng...as clay davis called him..lol
Lololololol!!!, true, true...
40 degree*
"You know what I'll do if the jury acquits me? I'm gonna keep doing it." lmao.
"Senator clay. I gots ta berry my mother, bail out my sooon, buy a new shirt for a jooob intervjuu"
In reality the prosecution would be getting Clay to tell them the names and/or locations of ANYONE he supposedly gave this charity to in a deposition. Okay you don’t have receipts but can you find someone to testify and provide evidence you gave them money for their arthritis meds or bail or school clothes?
In undergraduate law, they taught this to us as the SHEEEEEEIIIIT defense.
The Kobyashiiiiiieeeet Maru defense.
😂 lol! I need to know more about this lol
@@cmehustle SHEEEEEEIIIIT.. Congratulations, and welcome 😂😂😂😂
“Undergraduate law” lol boy finish college
@@Juan_deep 😂😂😂😂😂
"He's a crook, but he's our crook"
So much political corruption (even in modern, first-world democracies) can be explained once you grasp those words.
He is the Marion Bary of Baltimore
Yikes!!!!
Kind of like Trump
@@coreyh9175 So you understand my point.
Corey H more like Biden considering his bs
Rhonda Pearlman's face throughout this facade was priceless 😂😂😂
It's the 🤦🏿♂️ she does in the middle of it, that's when she saw the Jury being swayed & there was a damn good chance Clay was bout to walk
"They don't teach you this in law school" lmao
Which is exactly why she became a judge in the end of the series😂
And what's crazy is the guy playing davis lawyer is was one the highest paid defense attorneys in real life
Mrbig whats his name. ive seen him on youtube hes good
I think he’s out of dc he represented rayful edmonds but I don’t kno his name
@@brownhippy Dude! That's Billy Murphy! He served as attorney for Freddie Gray's family .
He used to be a judge in Baltimore if I'm not mistaken
holy shit, I thought he was familiar: he's the "Know Your Rights DVD" guy
1:24 Probably my favorite part of a great and hilarious scene is when Davis derisively refers to Bond as "Prosecutor O-bond-a." The fifth season of The Wire was made in 2007, and began airing in January 2008. At that time, it was generally understood that Barack Obama -- of Highland Park, Chicago, even more highfalutin than Roland Park near Baltimore -- was an upper-class black candidate whose base was among well-off white liberals. The great majority of black people, especially working-class and poor black people, favored Clinton. That only changed after the Iowa caucuses in January 2008.
Thanks for that, I didnt actually know what he said, I thought that was way before Obamas time so I couldn't have heard it right.
Really good observation. I've watched this scene a thousand times and never put that together, given the political context of that time.
@@anthonyr587 Is that why Trump says "Obamna"?
We
Shiiiiiiiitt
This is what happens when the facts don't matter. They had Clay dead to rights on the facts of the case!
Cult of personality won over. Collectively, people are stupid.
Also they wanted the credit for themselves so they froze out the feds who wanted to put him on trial in federal court outside of Baltimore
He's so good at convincing the jury that even himself believes it. And I've watched the show twice and even I believe him 🤣
To be a great liar you have to make yourself believe the lie.
This man's boss music sounds like non-threatening smooth R&B. Your health bar never lowers the fight. The crowd just applauds and you leave frustrated and ashamed.
lemme tell you somethin brother
Clay’s lawyer’s strategy of questioning him was brilliant
As any Baltimorean can tell you, his lawyer was played by prominent real life Baltimore defense attorney and former Baltimore Judge Billy Murphy.
@@rpblank6768 Billy Murphy basically played himself. I have little doubt half the shit he said and did in the show he also did in real life 😂
FRANK SOBOTKA (another Clay Davis victim) said it best when he said.... "Ya know what the problem is Brucie... we used to make shit in this country. BUILD shit. Now we just stick our hand in the next guy's pocket." Frank Sobotka, a dying breed of American men. (hands down the most tragic character of the series)
That was a great scene even if i didnt like season 2 or the Sobotkas. Pops was a real one though... Even if he was "crooked".
Yeah, that must suck. Once upon a time, only the private unions were ripping off business owners. Now everyone on the Left is doing it, just to pay off the public sector unions.. And with no one making things in the US, there's practically nothing left for our local socialists to steal anymore. It's sad.
I agree. That quote stuck with me and I didn't even like that season.
Jon Kline I still remember this sentence! very powerful meaning! the worker who s doing some illegal stuffs because of his miserable life... very sad
+Jon Kline Prosecutor Obonda couldnt believe that shiiiiiittttt
“Whatever it was , they don’t teach it law school “ fucken great line lol
Without a doubt the greatest "DRAMA SERIES" ever filmed.
Arthur Itis WOMAN!!!!!!!!!
Hahaha!!!
Best part.
Ikr
Hahahahaha
The performances of "The Wire" were among the absolutely best in teLIEvision history.
Clay Davis was as slimy and corrupt as it gets--but you HAVE to give his character his due--MAN he knew how to work it and spit some SERIOUS political game. One slick SOB!!!
Rupert Bond thought he could grandstand his way to the mayors office.
+Leon Delvechio Ramirez prosecutor Obonda is a big fail, Clay FTW
+Leon Delvechio Ramirez Bond had no one to blame but himself. His refusal to give Clay up to the feds made sure he'd be a failure
Another example of someone putting their career aspirations over the greater good
This was the first thing I thought of when I saw the election result.
He deserves to keep every penny & an Oscar after that performance
"What the fuck just happened?"
March Fifth He Played It Straight Up And Slid His Way Out Of Court
This was funny how he managed to con the whole courtroom. He was among the guiltiest most selfish people on the whole show and he managed to make himself look like one of the worlds most benevolent selfless people in the world, lol.
What he is saying is true he just didn't keep his books right.
Jurors are easy to con....if the defense attorneys pick the stupid ones. The OJ & Casey Anthony & 2nd Hernandez trials proved that.
The best part is he admitted to everything and got away with it.
They should have went federal on his ass lol but Bond wanted a win.
@@MarioCavett he conned you as well
This is my favorite scene of the whole show. Clay Davis is what a real gangster looks like.
Notice how he addresses the jury directly, adjusts his vernacular accordingly along with casual use of profanity, brilliantly manufacturers an "us vs. them" scenario (including his own lawyer in the "them"). He even references popular reality television to endear himself to the "common man" even further.
And he IS Clay Davis...
The black jury voting to keep him free didn't realize that he was the cause of most of their problems. As so often people look outside their own group for scapegoats without realizing that the true problem often lies within.
Sloth from The Goonies facts
sounds exactly like ordinary average white people voting Republican.
The irony of a white person saying this.
Average republican
@@anthonypatterson5061 the irony of an average American voting
"And I am Clay Davis." One of my favourite quotes from this episode.
My name is my name.
I love how he says if they find him not guilty, and let him walk free, he's going to go right back to doing what he was doing (that is, being more crooked than a bedspring), and keep doing it until they 'truck him up to Mt Auburn'. He literally doublespoke his way into applause for being unapologetically corrupt. This is high art!
*This was beautifully done. And it emphasizes the importance of semantics and understanding your audience. What Isiah Whitlock Jr. did here in presenting Clay Davis as the true conman that he is by using a range of emotions (laughter, sincerity, melancholy, hope, etc)...was credit to his acting abilities. Clay Davis is symptomatic of many corrupt senators who study their environment and know how to succeed in that environment. If Clay Davis could say whatever he wanted and be truthful, he would have said in his standard white voice (instead of the black vernacular he projected here): "Sheeeeiit, I don't care about you people. I became a senator to enrich myself. I don't care about you peasants. Yeah I stole a lot of money because I'm smart. You people are dumb. I have never given to the community because you are all hopeless. I'm entitled to this money and I will continue to make myself ricer so I can stay from this Baltimore slum." Had he said all that, he would have been in prison so quick.*
I dont think ANYONE..............ANYONE........would have said that, no matter how true it might be. Nobody that dumb especially not him.
Yo, Clay Davis just break the ankles of the legal system with this crossover. 🤣
After all the police work they’ve done to prove his crime he gets away with it with some cheap populism...this fucking TV show is more realistic than real life itself
And what’s sad is that tryna bring him down trumped 22 dead bodies (good to know - Cedric Daniels) and it led to mcnulty pulling the shit he did with the serial killer to try and ultimately bring Marlo down.
This is why I always put points into charisma.
The bits when Davis' own lawyer "challenges" him are hilarious.
I believe the guy that plays Clay's lawyer is the actual lawyer for Freddie Gray's family.
+LeotheOrangeCat Yes the lawyer is a real lawyer.
He's a well known lawyer in Baltimore.
And the stupid as DA overcharged the cops so they got off
One of the greatest scenes in tv history. Absolutely amazing. Clay Luther King!
Ha, the man was born with his hands some else pocket
I realize just now that this character deserves his own serie like "Better Call Saul". He's not the only one in this serie (Omar, Mozon, etc..), in every show they should prepare another potential serie for a mysterious, a funny or a interesting character.
I was thinking the same thing.
Someone from that culture has to write it but I think you're right. A series like that could be great, especially now.
Facts!
You could catch Clay Davis stealing your car, run up on him ready to throw hands and then he starts explaining himself. By the time he gets done talking he would’ve convinced you that you gave him the car.
Clay Davis ran circles around them..he hit em with the tears and all🤣🤣😂
Clay is so good he’ll rob your presents on Christmas morning and convince you it was the right thing to do.
As always, The Wire is spot on about the corrupted system. The saddest part is that people continue to fight each other over people who don't care about them. When the rich pass laws, it’s the poor who fall victim to its interpretation. And when the powerful wage war, it’s the weak who die.
"In my neck of the woods...its a jungle out there."
^ that's where it all started.
imagine saul goodman as clay davis's lawyer.
Jimmy would give him a run for his money, that's for sure
Clay's charisma, and Saul's untouchable wit.
I'd probably pass out from their combined corrupt power. that's just overkill
That would be insane.
Add Annaliese Keating to that team it’s a WRAP
"My world is strictly cash and carry. And I AM Clay Davis"
"What's that show, uhhh Survivor? They want some good contestants, they *need* to come around west side."
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I feel like clay Davis now when I start saying “ let me tell you something brother....”
This was some of the most brilliant acting ever. Peep notice how the lawyer and Clay Davis acting scene counter acted with each other. At first you would think Clay Davis Lawyer was prosectuing him. Such brilliant writing. Please bring the wire back
I think the execution was more important.
I know this is an 11 year old comment but his lawyer is actually a real Baltimore lawyer. His name is Billy Murphy Jr. and he's playing himself in this scene. He's one of the best defense attorneys in Maryland. A bunch of the credit for this scene goes to him because he knows how to do a convincing direct examination.
Shiiiiiiiiit!!! I can't believe I've done it again! Every time I see this clip I go and donate a pile of cash to Clay Davis. I know he's only a TV character, but he's just so damn believable. Bloody silver tongued devil!
He didn't try to deny he exploited the system he made them believe he exploited the system for the people. Fucking genius honestly
This is such a great scene from such a great show. Incredible acting, and incredible writing. Just awesome!
Fear Factor? Sheeeeit.
Spadesz93 NO HEYHEYHEY
"Ohh! Joe Rogan, you crazy!"
I don’t remember much of this show. But this scene has been imprinted on my mind.
“Whatever it was they don’t teach it in law school” 😂 ol by the book asses didn’t see that one coming Mr Clay Davis ladies and gentlemen!
3:19 .. Rhonda's face is priceless. Man, I love this show.
Clay Davis just rain-made the whole court.
I love how he nearly said sheeeeeeit in front of the judge 😂🤣!!!
This is so sad. I'm always blaming the politicians for the state of affairs in my country (South Africa) but this also sheds the light on our share of the blame. We are too quick too forgive their corruption, an eloquent speech and all is well, we'll re-elect you again.
if you think about it legally this truly is a laughable defense, but he sells it so hard
It's definitely laughable and completely ridiculous lol. Man said all the money from the donations that ended up in his personal account was ALL being used to help people in the neighborhood with random problems
That is such horseshit that no one should believe but he tells the story in such a charismatic and confident way that he makes it sound believable
This why the jury system is shit. Justice should be served by people who have studied law, not random citizens who can be moved by passionate speeches.
+thestranger4812 It's not shit just because people don't have law degrees. The real reason this case failed, and Clay Davis wasn't subsequently put behind bars, is because of a man with a law degree. If State's attorney Bond had taken Freamon's advice, taking the "headshot" case federal, they would have got their man. But that guy with the law degree wanted something for himself on the way to justice, watering down the prosecution's case to suit his own ends, therefore resulting in it's failure to secure a guilty verdict.
Also, the jurors weren't necessarily "moved by passionate speeches". All they're being told is Clay Davis has taken drug money. They haven't been presented with any evidence that Davis was using this money for personal gain (which is what Freamon could show with his "headshot"). A senator redistributing money from the drug trade that has blighted their city to community projects and helping law abiding citizens is probably music to their ears.
The Judge is there to guide the juror on matters of the law, likewise the prosecution and defence, it is the role of the juror to be moral arbiters. To decide not whether something is legal, but to decide whether they agree with conviction on the basis of said law.
It is a pivotal tradition in Anglo Saxon common law; the idea that even if a law is on the statute books, and even if it was passed through democratic assembly, you still had the additional check and balance that this law had to be tested by a jury of the people, who had to live by said law, ensuring it would continue to be tested throughout time.
"If the jury have no right to judge of the justice of a law of the government, they plainly can do nothing to protect the people against the oppressions of the government; for there are no oppressions which the government may not authorize by law." - Lysander Spooner, American abolitionist and political philosopher.
+thestranger4812 random jury people will decide if u are gonna get locked up for life
+Fox McCloud - Two hundred years ago it may have been true, when common people with common sense could understand and apply law, the judge was needed just to oversee the procedure.
But nowadays, when laws have become simultaneously abstract and concrete, they have become too difficult to understand a situation for the everyman. Professionals are not just needed, but required apply the law. Professional jury or lawyers... but America needs its system to move on from how it may have been 240 years ago.
+andrew7taylor I completely disagree in this specific case and I disagree in part with your general point.
In this specific case I think the jury did it's job perfectly; they judged the morality of the case as they saw it. They judged that it was, in their eyes, a moral deed to take drug money from drug dealers and funnel it into projects that would help their community. Only we, the viewer, knew that Clay Davis was taking drug money to enrich himself and only spent a few here and there on good causes to cover for his corruption. The prosecution did not provide any evidence to back up their claim that Clay Davis was personally benefiting from this money. Therefore it came down to the prosecution's word against Clay Davis', and the jury rightly acquitted on the basis of reasonable doubt.
And on jury trial in general I would agree that if you only want to enforce the law then you would restrict jury duty to only those people that understand the law. But as I said above this is not the original purpose of the jury.
No, the jury did not do their job perfectly. And the prosecution did provide evidence. What part of "money from charity being deposited into personal bank account" isn't evidence.
To be perfectly honest, transferring money from charity funds to your own bank account IS ILLEGAL regardless of whether you're doing it to do a better job than the charity fund. So even if Clay wanted to help his community with the money, he technically did do something illegal, and should have been prosecuted for it.
And to be perfectly fair, the jury did become emotionally susceptible to Clay Davis' charismatic personality and his warm speech about community service and brotherhood. The Jury is meant to judge evidence without bias, not be warmed by the talks of brotherhood by a fellow African American.
I strongly think that the Jury should be half citizen, half professionals with thorough understanding of the law. It's the only way to make it fair.
He convinced me he’s innocent, dam shame I know he isn’t.
As much as i could say about S5....moments like this...
Pearlman vs Levy
"My name is my name!"
That final montage with McNulty....
Man. Nothing like it....
Clay Davis..the only person 2 sell Lucifer his own soul
“Shiiiit I’ll let you have it back for half of its cold in Baltimore you know “
@@postsniper-7532 that part
@ 1:54, even that attorney laughed at Clay when he pulled his pockets inside out!! 😂😂😂 Clay was a fool 😆😆😆
The annnd I am clay Davis defense
Those two are the best lawyer-client duo in TV history.
You know what, its like watching an artist doing his thing. This here is a con man through and through. But a talented one none the less.
absolute incredible actor tho. Just think how well he's convinced you of his character, and here convinces you that the character is a great liar and actor..... some next level shit.
Sepp Blatter should give Clay Davis a call.
I’ve been watching clay for the whole show and even I would’ve said not guilty shiiieeeyyttt
He even traveled once to Paris to help me financially even I’m not American or from Baltimore.good man.
He's got my vote...
What about Frank Sobotka? I'm not hearing his name anywhere.
This 1 Scene shows everything That i personally can't stand about politicians
And he is a despicable bastard, But God Damn is Clay Davis a great character
I love the look on Clay's face just before this scene when he's walking up the court's steps; he goes from toothy grinned confidence to arse collapsing worry in one swift move.
He's such a great character.
Would I vote for Clay Davis? Hell yeah...Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-yit!
Pearlman’s face throughout the testimony 🤣🤣🤣
This man got a standing ovation during a trail 😂
artha iiitis
2:44 She's like "I can't believe this bullshit"
"That old author-eye-tis woman..." FTW