Justin Timberlake pleads not guilty in DWI case
Timberlake, who attended the hearing in Sag Harbor, NY virtually, spoke twice to answer “yes” to Sag Harbor Village Justice Justice Carl Irace.
The hearing was largely procedural. The judge at one-point admonished Timberlake’s lawyer, Edward Burke, for previous comments made outside of court to the media. The judge urged counsel to be more cautious.
The singer was arrested in June after police say he was observed driving a 2025 BMW “in an intoxicated condition.”
He allegedly failed to stop at a stop sign and also failed to maintain in his lane of travel, according to a statement from Sag Harbor Police. He was described by an officer as “unable to divide attention.” The officer added that Timberlake “had slowed speech, he was unsteady afoot and he performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests.”
Timberlake told police he “had one martini and I followed my friends home,” according to court records.
At a hearing late July, Timberlake’d attorney disputed that the performer was intoxicated, arguing he should not have been arrested.
“The police made a number of very significant errors in this case,” Burke said at the time.
The attorney had added Timberlake has respect for law enforcement “and the very important job that they do.”
Timberlake is currently on tour for his most recent album, “Everything I Thought It Was.” He has back-to-back concerts in Antwerp, Belgium, beginning Saturday, as part of the European leg of his tour.
Friday’s appearance was a rescheduled arraignment after Timberlake’s attorney argued in a previous hearing there were paperwork errors.
There is another conference hearing in the case on Aug. 9, though Timberlake is not required to attend at that time.
The judge asked Timberlake if he had any entertainment plans during his trial, to which he responded about his ongoing concert tour. Despite the legal proceedings, Timberlake's tour continues with back-to-back concerts in Antwerp, Belgium.
