Justin Timberlake was arraigned for a second time in his driving whereas intoxicated (DWI) case on Aug. 2.
The singer, who’s on a world tour, appeared nearly for the listening to in Sag Harbor, N.Y., the place he was pulled over in June. In the course of the listening to, the choose knowledgeable Timberlake that his driver’s license can be suspended and got here down on his lawyer, Edward Burke Jr., for “irresponsible” feedback.
What occurred on the listening to?
Timberlake appeared through video convention from Antwerp, Belgium, carrying a black collared shirt, based on NBC Information. He pleaded not responsible to a revised misdemeanor cost of driving whereas intoxicated within the Hamptons village.
Burke withdrew a earlier movement to dismiss the case. Sag Harbor Justice Carl Irace formally suspended Timberlake’s license in New York. (The suspension might carry over to different states through the Interstate Driver’s License Compact.) The license will likely be suspended pending the result of the case.
Irace admonished Burke for making “irresponsible” feedback to the media in what the choose referred to as an “try and poison the case earlier than it even begins.” The choose threatened — however has not but imposed — a gag order. (Burke instructed the press exterior courtroom final week that Timberlake “was not intoxicated.”)
The subsequent listening to is ready for Aug. 9, however Timberlake just isn’t required to seem in individual at that one both. That will likely be adopted by a listening to scheduled for Sept. 13, which he could also be required to attend.
After Friday’s listening to, Burke briefly spoke to the press. Requested if his shopper maintains that he was not intoxicated on the time of his arrest, Burke mentioned they’re certainly sustaining that. He additionally mentioned he doesn’t assume the choose will impose a gag order towards him: “Hey, all of us have jobs to do, and we’re obligated to zealously defend our purchasers, and that’s what I plan on doing.”
Justin Timberlake’s lawyer Edward D. Burke Jr. on Timberlake’s DWI case and a choose’s menace to impose a gag order.
Timberlake pleaded not responsible to a revised DWI cost in a digital courtroom look in NY in the present day
For extra details about the case: https://t.co/yMOaKbI4pq pic.twitter.com/eXPWeR10PL
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) August 2, 2024
In New York, a misdemeanor DWI conviction might end in as much as one yr in jail and $500 to $1,000 in fines. Nevertheless, “it could be a uncommon factor that someone, even with a [chemical test] refusal, would serve jail time as a primary offender with out an accident or egregious circumstances,” lawyer Peter T. Goodrich, of Goodrich & Bendish in New York, beforehand instructed Yahoo.
Goodrich additionally defined that, separate from Timberlake’s felony case, he can have a listening to with the Division of Motor Autos over his refusal of the breathalyzer. Beneath New York legislation, anybody who drives a motorized vehicle within the state is deemed to have given their consent to chemical testing to find out the alcohol or drug content material of their blood. Refusing to take action throughout a DWI arrest leads to the individual’s license being revoked for no less than one yr, impartial of a felony conviction.
Burke has not but responded to Yahoo Leisure’s request for remark in regards to the Aug. 2 listening to.
How did we get right here?
Shortly after midnight on June 18, a Sag Harbor police officer pulled over Timberlake in his BMW after the officer mentioned he noticed him weave out of a lane and undergo a cease signal, based on the arrest report. The officer mentioned Timberlake, who had been on the restaurant and bar of the American Resort, had “bloodshot and glassy” eyes, was unsteady on his ft and that there was an odor of alcohol on his breath. Timberlake instructed the officer he had “one martini,” based on the report. He carried out poorly on the sphere sobriety take a look at, the officer claimed, and refused a breathalyzer take a look at. Timberlake was held in police custody till his arraignment, at which he pleaded not responsible and was launched with out bail.
At a listening to on July 26, for which Timberlake additionally appeared nearly, his lawyer attacked the case on procedural grounds, saying the arresting officer’s supervisor didn’t log off on the felony criticism. The Suffolk County district lawyer’s workplace mentioned there was a “ministerial error” within the arrest paperwork that had been mounted and that Timberlake can be re-arraigned underneath the revised criticism.
It was after that listening to that Burke instructed the press his shopper “was not intoxicated. I’ll say it once more: Justin Timberlake was not intoxicated, and we’re assured that cost — that felony cost — will likely be dismissed.” A Suffolk County district lawyer’s spokesperson mentioned in an announcement, “We stand able to litigate the underlying info of this case in courtroom, moderately than within the press.”
Why wasn’t Timberlake in courtroom?
The singer — whose solely remark in regards to the DWI cost was when he was onstage in Chicago instantly following his arrest and referred to having a “powerful week” — hasn’t attended the final two hearings as a result of he’s been in Europe on his “Overlook Tomorrow World Tour.” He has exhibits in Belgium on Aug. 3 and Aug. 4, after which he’ll go to the U.Okay. for a number of exhibits.
If he’s mandated to seem in individual at his subsequent listening to on Sept. 13, it is going to be throughout a break in his exhibits. In line with his tour schedule, Timberlake will likely be in France for a tour date on Sept. 7 however then has nothing till a Sept. 28 present in Newark, N.J.
