Justin Timberlake has been ordered to be re-arraigned virtually in court next month as he kicks off the European leg of his world tour.
The pop star’s first court hearing since his DUI arrest last month drew a crowd of photographers, journalists, and curious onlookers who nearly filled a tiny Sag Harbor courtroom to capacity on Friday.
The only person not in attendance, however, was the guest of honor himself.
Instead, Timberlake’s attorney Edward Burke Jr. appeared on the pop star’s behalf to ask Judge Carl Irace to toss the case stemming from the June 18 incident.
The singer was charged with drunk driving after he was pulled over in Sag Harbor for allegedly running a stop sign and veering out of the lane while driving his 2025 BMW X7 that night.
Justin Timberlake will be re-arraigned on DUI charges next week, a judge ruled during a hearing in Sag Harbor on Friday. The singer is seen being led out in handcuffs following his June 18 arrest
Timberlake’s attorney Edward Burke Jr. appeared in court in Sag Harbor on the pop star’s behalf to ask Judge Carl Irace to toss the case stemming from the June 18 incident
Burke on Friday filed a motion to dismiss the charges, claiming Timberlake was not intoxicated at the time and citing errors on the accusatory document signed by police.
The singer was pulled over and arrested in Sag Harbor after allegedly running a stop sign and veering out of the lane while driving his 2025 BMW X7 that night
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.
Rather than dismissing the case, Cangro instead argued that Timberlake should be re-arraigned as soon as possible based on the amended document.
When asked by the judge when Timberlake will next be able to make a court appearance Burke said his client is currently on tour in Europe and asked to attend the hearing virtually.
Judge Irace agreed and scheduled Timberlake’s arraignment for Friday August 2, 9:30am.
Burke, pictured on Friday, 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 pop star’s first court hearing since his DUI arrest last month drew a crowd of photographers, journalists, and curious onlookers who nearly filled a tiny Sag Harbor courtroom to capacity
The night of his arrest, the so-called ‘Prince of Pop’ had told the arresting officer he had one martini at The American Hotel
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 the 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.
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.
Timberlake is currently on his Forget Tomorrow World Tour, which kicks off its European leg in Poland on Friday July 26. He is pictured performing in Hershey Park, Pennsylvania on July 4
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.