Justin Timberlake Appears Virtually in Court, Pleads Not Guilty to DWI
Justin Timberlake made a virtual appearance at his arraignment on Friday, August 2, more than one month after his arrest for DWI, Us Weekly can confirm.
While unable to attend in person as he is currently in Europe for his Forget Tomorrow World Tour (he will next take the stage in Belgium on Saturday, August 3), Timberlake pleaded not guilty to a revised misdemeanor charge of drunk driving. Justice Carl Irace ruled to suspend Timberlake's permission to drive in New York with another hearing (a lawyer conference) scheduled for Friday, August 9. Us can also confirm Timberlake's attorney withdrew his previous motion to dismiss the case.
Timberlake was taken into custody in the Hamptons in June. “On June 18, 2024, at 12:37 AM, Justin R. Timberlake, age 43, of Tennessee, was observed operating a 2025 BMW southbound on Madison Street, failing to stop at a duly posted stop sign and failing to maintain his lane of travel,” the Sag Harbor Police Department said in a statement at the time. “A traffic stop was initiated by a police officer from the Sag Harbor Police Department and upon investigation it was determined that Mr. Timberlake was operating his vehicle in an intoxicated condition.”
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The statement continued: “Mr. Timberlake was placed under arrest, processed and held overnight for morning arraignment. Mr. Timberlake was arraigned at the Sag Harbor Village Justice Court on June 18, 2024, at 9:30 AM where he was released on his own recognizance.”
Later that day, Timberlake was formally charged with one count of driving while intoxicated and was released without bail.
“The charge was a single count because he refused the breath test,” Timberlake’s lawyer, Ed Burke, told Us Weekly. “Mr. Timberlake was also charged with two other court citations, running a stop sign and not traveling in the correct traffic lane.”
Per court documents obtained by CNN in June, Timberlake told authorities that he “had one martini and I followed my friends home,” but his eyes were allegedly “bloodshot and glassy” and there was a “strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his breath.”
In the police report, one officer claimed that Timberlake had “slowed speech,” “was unsteady afoot” and “performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests.” He also rejected a breathalyzer test three times.
Days after his arrest, Timberlake seemingly addressed the incident during a concert in Chicago. “It’s been a tough week,” he told the crowd. “I know sometimes I’m hard to love, but you keep on loving me and I love you right back.”
Us previously confirmed that Timberlake was not present for a July 26 hearing regarding his case. However, Burke defended his client in court.
“The most important fact to know about this case is that Justin was not intoxicated and should not have been arrested for DWI,” Burke said. “The police made a number of very significant errors in this case. In court today, you heard the district attorney try to fix one of those errors. But that’s just one and there are many others. Sometimes the police make mistakes and this is just one of those instances. Justin respects law enforcement and the very important job that they do. He cooperated with the police officers at all times and treated them with the respect they deserve. He also respects the entire judicial process including the District Attorney and Judge who were in court today. But the fact remains, he was not intoxicated and they made an error in arresting him for it. We are confident that this charge will be dismissed.”
