Justin Timberlake’s Lawyer Asserts in Court That Singer Was ‘Not Intoxicated’ at Time of Arrest
There was a hearing in Justin Timberlake DWI case on Friday, July 26.
Us Weekly can confirm that Timberlake, 43, was not in court today nor did he appear virtually as he is in Poland as part of his world tour. He is expected to appear virtually on Friday, August 2, for arraignment is on one count of DWI. Timberlake's lawyer Edward Burke Jr., asserted during the hearing that his client “was not intoxicated” when he was arrested June 18.
Following the arraignment, Burke Jr. released a statement about the charge, telling Us, "The most important fact to know about this case is that Justin was not intoxicated and should not have been arrested for DWI. 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."
The statement continued, "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."
The singer was taken into custody in the Hamptons on June 18. “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 Village Police Department and upon investigation it was determined that Mr. Timberlake was operating his vehicle in an intoxicated condition.”
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.”
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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,” his lawyer, Ed Burke, told Us Weekly at the time. “Mr. Timberlake was also charged with two other court citations, running a stop sign and not traveling in the correct traffic lane.”
Burke subsequently added that he looked “forward to vigorously defending Mr. Timberlake on these allegations” and had “a lot to say at the appropriate time.”
According to court documents obtained by CNN in June, Timberlake told authorities that he “had one martini and I followed my friends home.” However, his eyes were allegedly “bloodshot and glassy,” and there was a “strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his breath.”
One police officer claimed in the report that Timberlake had “slowed speech,” “was unsteady afoot” and “performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests” as well as rejected a breathalyzer test three times.
Just days after his arrest, Timberlake resumed his Forget Tomorrow World Tour and seemingly addressed the incident for the first time. “It’s been a tough week,” he told the audience at his Chicago concert. “I know sometimes I’m hard to love, but you keep on loving me and I love you right back.”
In June, a source exclusively told Us that Timberlake’s wife, Jessica Biel — with whom he shares sons Silas, 9, and Phineas, 4 — was “extremely upset” about his arrest.
“She was shocked to hear the news and had no idea as she was working,” the insider said. “She was really worried about him.”
Biel was spotted supporting Timberlake at his New York City show later that month.
