Justin Timberlake Loses New York Driving Privileges in DUI Hearing

A week after Justin Timberlake’s defense attorney claimed that the singer had been mistakenly arrested in the Hamptons, the judge overseeing the case threatened to quash public conversation about the “Cry Me A River” singer’s drunk driving case. The same judge also suspended the pop star’s driving privileges, a gesture that will only restrict Timberlake’s activities in the Empire State.

Timberlake was arrested in June after police said that he was observed running a stop sign and swerving between lanes while driving a grey 2025 BMW through the streets of Sag Harbor, Long Island. According to Justin Timberlake’s lawyer, Ed Burke, the musician declined police requests that he take a Breathalyzer test at the scene, reportedly telling police “I had one martini and followed my friends home.”

According to Sag Harbor police, when he was pulled over, Timberlake’s eyes were “bloodshot and glassy,” and smelled strongly of alcohol. He “had slowed speech, he was unsteady afoot, and he performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests,” the report reads.

Justin Timberlake’s lawyer Edward Burke Jr. makes a speech as he holds a press conference in front of Sag Harbor Municipal Building after the trial in Long Island, New York, United States on July 26, 2024.

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But issues with that report are one of the reasons the charges against Timberlake should be dropped, his attorney said following a hearing on July 26. “The police made a number of very significant errors in this case,” Burke said in a press conference. “Sometimes the police, like every one of us, make mistakes. And that’s the case in this very instance.”

“He was not intoxicated. I’ll say it again. Justin Timberlake was not intoxicated,” Burke said then. “And we are very confident that charge, that criminal charge, will be dismissed.”

One of the errors Burke referenced was a lack of necessary signatures on Timberlake’s initial charging papers. That mistake meant the Candy actor had to be arraigned for a second time on Friday, this time with the paperwork intact.

Timberlake appeared in the courtroom virtually, as he is currently on tour in support of his sixth studio album, March release Everything I Thought It Was. As with his last arraignment, he entered a plea of not guilty, and answered “yes” when asked questions by Sag Harbor Village Justice Carl Irace.

The bulk of the exchange involved Burke and Irace, the latter of whom threatened a gag order over Burke’s remarks from last week.

Burke’s comments to the press came “off as an attempt to poison the case before it even begins,” Irace warned, describing them as “irresponsible.”

“Think about the law … before making comments,” Irace said.

Irace also announced that Timberlake’s driver’s license would be suspended for the duration of the case, due to his refusal to take a chemical sobriety test at the time of his arrest. However, as Timberlake’s license was issued in a state other than New York, the suspension applies only in that state.

The next hearing in the case has been set for August 9, but Timberlake isn’t required to appear. However, Irace is already setting the stage for an in-person court appearance on September 13, and asked Burke to make sure Timberlake was available to appear on that date. If a trial does occur and Timberlake is convicted, he could be fined up to $2,500 and sentenced to as long as a year in prison.