SAG HARBOR, N.Y. — Justin Timberlake appeared virtually at a Friday hearing for his driving while intoxicated case, where the judge announced the pop star’s driver’s license would be suspended and admonished his lawyer over “irresponsible” comments.
Timberlake, 43, wore a black collared shirt for his appearance via video conference from Antwerp, Belgium.
Sag Harbor Justice Carl Irace reprimanded the musician’s attorney, Edward Burke Jr., for “irresponsible” comments he made at the last court hearing, adding that it “comes off as an attempt to poison the case before it even begins.”
The judge even threatened to issue a gag order if the attorney continued to make such comments. It’s not clear which comments the judge was referring to.
After considering a motion to dismiss the case against Timberlake, the judge suspended the singer’s license in New York state because he refused to take a breathalyzer test on June 18 when he was pulled over. The license will be suspended for the pendency of the case, according to Burke Jr.
The hearing lasted roughly half an hour, ending with Irace again admonishing Burke, urging him to “raise the bar, not lower it.”
Burke Jr., spoke to reporters after the hearing, saying that he plans on “filing motions” and letting “the content of those motions and the arguments contained therein speak for themselves.”
Burke Jr., also maintained Timberlake’s claim that he was not intoxicated when he was pulled over.
When asked about the judge potentially issuing a gag order against him, Burke Jr., said he doesn’t see that happening.
“Hey, we all have jobs to do, and we’re obligated to zealously defend our clients, and that’s what I plan on doing,” he said.
The hearing in Sag Harbor, New York, came more than a month after Timberlake was pulled over after he failed field sobriety tests and was arrested on suspicion of intoxicated driving early morning on a Tuesday in the affluent Hamptons area of Long Island.
The singer claimed he had just “one martini” before he was pulled over. He pleaded not guilty and his attorney Burke said in a statement at the time: “I look forward to vigorously defending Mr. Timberlake on these allegations. I will have a lot to say at the appropriate time but am currently awaiting full discovery from the District Attorney’s office.”
Timberlake was behind the wheel of a gray Florida-registered BMW when he was stopped a little after 12:15 a.m. that Tuesday morning near Madison Street and Middle Line Highway, initially for driving through a stop sign and failing to stay on the right side of the road, according to the criminal complaint.
But once police spoke to Timberlake, they said, it was clear he was not in shape to drive, according to the complaint, written by Sag Harbor Village police officer Michael Arkinson.
It was “ascertained that the defendant was operating said vehicle in an intoxicated condition in that his eyes were bloodshot and glassy, a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage was emanating from his breath, he was unable to divide attention, he had slowed speech, he was unsteady afoot, and he performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests,” Arkinson wrote.
Timberlake struggled to walk heel-to-toe and stand on one foot without swaying or using arms to balance, the report said.
The officer quoted Timberlake as saying: “I had one martini and I followed my friends home.”
He also declined to be tested for impairment, said police, who alleged he told them, “No, I’m not doing a chemical test.”
NBC News legal analyst Danny Cevallos said: “A refusal can be introduced at trial to establish conscious evidence of guilt. It is the predicate for a revocation of driving privileges.”
Timberlake had dined at the American Hotel in Sag Harbor “and then headed to a friend’s house when he was pulled over by police,” a source close to him said.
The next conference is set for Aug. 9, which Timberlake is not required to appear for. Another hearing is planned for Sept. 13 but may not take place depending on what happens in August, Burke Jr. said. Timberlake may be required to attend the September date.