Justin Timberlake returns to court for DWI case

Pop star Justin Timberlake appeared via video conference Friday for the latest hearing in his drunk driving case where a judge reportedly revoked his license.

Justin Timberlake, center, appears by video during his arraignment in Sag Harbor Justice Carl Irace’s courtroom on August 2, 2024. (POOL)

Timberlake was arrested the morning of June 18 on suspicion of driving while intoxicated in Sag Harbor, a village in New York’s Hamptons area. He was pulled over after a police officer allegedly spotted him running through a stop sign and failing to stay in his lane, according to police reports.

The arresting officer quoted Timberlake as saying, “I had one martini and I followed my friends home.”

Timberlake pleaded not guilty hours after his arrest to a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated. Suffolk County prosecutors refiled the charge in July after discovering an administrative error in the first charging document. Timberlake, who is on tour in Europe, made a virtual appearance in Sag Harbor Village Justice Court on Friday to be re-arraigned on the refiled charge.

NBC News and other media outlets reported that Judge Carl Irace announced in the hearing that Timberlake’s license would be suspended in New York State because he refused to take a breathalyzer test during his arrest. Irace also threatened Timberlake’s lawyer, Edward J. Burke, with a gag order over what the judge described as “irresponsible” comments that Burke made after Timberlake’s last court appearance.

Burke told reporters on July 26 that Timberlake was “not intoxicated” when he was pulled over and should not have been arrested. Burke also accused police of making “significant errors” and said he was “confident” that the charge would be dismissed.

Justin Timberlake appears by video during his arraignment in Sag Harbor Justice Carl Irace’s courtroom on August 2, 2024. (POOL)

The judge said the comments came off “as an attempt to poison the case before it even begins,” NBC News reported .

The officer who pulled Timberlake over wrote in an incident report that he smelled of alcohol, was “unsteady” on his feet, had “slow speech,” bloodshot, glassy eyes and “performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests.” Timberlake subsequently refused chemical testing on three occasions, including the breathalyzer test, to determine his blood alcohol levels, the police reports indicate.

Timberlake’s defense tried to dismiss the charge after discovering a part-time officer signed off on the arresting officer’s statements in violation of state law.