Justin Timberlake has been suspended from driving in New York nearly two months after he was arrested on DUI charges.
The pop star, who is currently on tour in Europe, made a virtual appearance in a Sag Harbor courtroom on Friday where he was re-arraigned on a drunk driving charge stemming from the June 18 incident.
Appearing via video link from Antwerp, Belgium – where he is scheduled to perform on Saturday – he pleaded not guilty to one charge of driving while intoxicated.
Dressed in a black collared shirt, the singer, 43, looked stony-faced on screen, only speaking twice to respond to Judge Carl Irace.
The judge told Timberlake he was suspending his driving privileges in the state of New York because of his refusal to take a breath test at police headquarters after his arrest, but did not specify how long the suspension would last.
The hearing comes after attorney Edward Burke Jr. had sought to dismiss the case last week, citing errors in the original charging documents in Timberlake’s arrest.
But the judge instead ordered the singer-actor to be re-arraigned today under the new, revised paperwork filed by prosecutors.
Justin Timberlake made a virtual appearance in a Sag Harbor courtroom on Friday where he was re-arraigned on a drunk driving charge stemming from his June 18 arrest
Dressed in a black collared shirt, the singer, 43, looked stony-faced on screen, and spoke briefly to enter his not guilty plea and to respond to Judge Carl Irace
Burke withdrew his original motion to have the case dismissed during the hearing on Friday.
Sag Harbor Judge Carl Irace also admonished the attorney over his comments at the previous court hearing, calling them ‘irresponsible.’
The lawyer had spoken to media outside the courthouse after the July 26 hearing, insisting Timberlake hadn’t been intoxicated on the night of his arrest.
Judge Irace said Burke’s statements ‘come off as an attempt to poison the case before it even begins’, and threatened the attorney with a gag order if he continues to make such comments.
He also warned Timberlake may be ordered to appear in court in person for future hearings in the case.
Another hearing is scheduled for next Friday August 9, which the singer will not be required to attend.
The 43-year-old was permitted to appear virtually as his Forget Tomorrow World Tour kicks off in Europe. He performed in Berlin on Wednesday, and has another sold out concert scheduled on Saturday in Antwerp.
Timberlake is scheduled to be back in the US for a show in Newark, New Jersey on September 13.
The former NSYNC star was arrested for drunk driving in the early hours of June 18 after being pulled over in Sag Harbor for allegedly running a stop sign and veering out of the lane while driving his 2025 BMW X7.
Burke had filed a motion last week to dismiss the charges, claiming Timberlake was not intoxicated at the time and citing errors on the accusatory document signed by police.
The 43-year-old was permitted to appear virtually as his Forget Tomorrow World Tour kicks off in Europe
Justin Timberlake was re-arraigned on DUI charges on Friday after his lawyer cited errors in the original charging documents from his arrest. The singer was seen being led out in handcuffs following his June 18 arrest
The singer’s BMW was seen cruising through Sag Harbor in the early hours of Tuesday June 18 in footage from nearby surveillance cameras
The lawyer argued that the paperwork filled out by the arresting officer had been signed off by a part-time cop rather than a supervising officer, specifically the Sag Harbor Police sergeant who had been present at the time.
The prosecution, led by Assistant District Attorney Ashley Cangro, countered that argument, saying prosecutors had, in fact, filed a superseding, properly signed accusatory document on July 2.
That document, she said, corrected the error made the morning of the arrest.
Cangro instead argued that Timberlake should be re-arraigned as soon as possible based on the amended document, to which Judge Irace agreed, setting the hearing for August 2.
However, it is unlikely Timberlake will make any appearances until there’s a final disposition worked out between his attorney and the DA, if the case gets that far.
After last week’s hearing, Burke spoke briefly to the press outside the courtroom, claiming police acted improperly during and after the arrest and insisting his client was not intoxicated on the night of his arrest.
‘The police made a number of significant errors,’ he said ‘Sometimes the police, just like every one of us, make mistakes.’
The night of his arrest, the so-called ‘Prince of Pop’ had told the arresting officer he had one martini at The American Hotel and was following some friends home, according to the documents.
The 10-time Grammy winner was released without bond later in the morning after being arraigned in Sag Harbor. He was charged with a driving-while-intoxicated misdemeanor.
The night of his arrest, the so-called ‘Prince of Pop’ had told the arresting officer he had one martini at The American Hotel
Timberlake’s attorney Edward Burke Jr. had appeared in court in Sag Harbor on the pop star’s behalf on July 26 to ask Judge Carl Irace to toss the case stemming from the June 18 incident
Timberlake is currently in Europe for his Forget Tomorrow World Tour, which will head to Belgium for two nights on Saturday. He is pictured performing in Hershey Park, Pennsylvania on July 4
It is no coincidence nor surprise that Timberlake hired Burke to represent him in the case.
He is known as the ‘go-to’ attorney when celebrities and the rich and powerful get busted in the Hamptons.
Burke’s superpower is his legal negotiation skill and his ability to make the system work on behalf of his clients.
When Jason Kidd, then an NBA All-Star, and now a head coach in the league, was busted on a misdemeanor drunken driving charge after crashing into a phone pole in Southampton in 2012, it was Burke who stood by a side.
The charges against Kidd were eventually reduced to a simple violation.
Burke also stood by Jason Lee, a top Goldman Sachs executive, when he was charged with rape by the East Hampton Town Police in 2013.
Lee was eventually found not guilty after a trial in 2015.
In 2021, when Dan Gatsby, the husband and caretaker of restaurateur B Smith, who had died the year before, crashed the Mercedes-Benz he was driving into another vehicle in Sag Harbor, badly damaging both, and then refused to take a breath test at police headquarters after being charged with drunken driving, it was Burke who got the call.
Gatsby eventually was allowed to plead, as with Jason Kidd, to a simple violation, leaving him with no criminal record, an unusual move in a case where there was both a crash and a refusal.
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