Justin Timberlake has been given a driving ban in New York, nearly two months after he was arrested for driving under the influence.
The pop star, who is currently on tour in Europe, appeared virtually in a Sag Harbor courtroom on Friday, where he was charged again with driving under the influence, stemming from the June 18 incident.
The 43-year-old singer appeared via video link from Antwerp, Belgium, wearing a black shirt. He pleaded not guilty to a charge of drunk driving.
The hearing comes after Timberlake’s attorney Edward Burke Jr. tried to dismiss the case last week, citing errors in charging documents from the time of his arrest.
The judge has instead ordered the pop star to appear again today based on the new, revised documents.
During Friday’s hearing, Judge Carl Irace of Sag Harbor also reprimanded Burke for his comments during the previous hearing, calling them “irresponsible.”
Speaking to media outside court, the attorney insisted Timberlake was not drunk the night of his arrest.
Judge Irace said Burke’s comments “come across as an attempt to poison the case before it even begins.”
He subsequently officially revoked Timberlake’s driver’s license in New York, but he did not specify for how long.
Justin Timberlake was charged with drunk driving again on Friday after his attorney cited errors in the original charging documents from his arrest. The singer was seen being led out in handcuffs following his arrest on June 18
Timberlake was back in court last week for a hearing, where his attorney wanted the case dismissed because of flaws in the charging documents filed after his arrest.
The 43-year-old was allowed to virtually attend the start of his world tour in Europe.
The singer was charged with driving under the influence after he was pulled over in Sag Harbor that evening for running a stop sign and veering out of lane in his 2025 BMW X7.
Burke filed a motion last week to dismiss the charges, arguing that Timberlake was not intoxicated at the time and that there were errors in the charging document signed by police.
The attorney argued that the paperwork filled out by the arresting officer was signed by a part-time officer and not by a supervisor, specifically the Sag Harbor Police Department sergeant who was present at the time.
The prosecution, led by Assistant District Attorney Ashley Cangro, disputed this argument, stating that prosecutors filed a substitute, properly signed indictment on July 2.
According to her, that document corrected the error made the morning of the arrest.
Cangro instead argued that Timberlake should be resubpoenaed as soon as possible based on the amended document. Judge Irace agreed and set the hearing for August 2.
The singer’s BMW was seen driving through Sag Harbor in the early hours of Tuesday, June 18, on nearby surveillance camera footage
The 43-year-old star was pictured looking exhausted after his original arraignment in June in Sag Harbor
The night of his arrest, the so-called ‘Prince of Pop’ told the arresting officer that he had drunk one martini at The American Hotel
However, it is unlikely that Timberlake will appear until a final settlement is reached between his attorney and the prosecutor, should the case go that far.
After last week’s hearing, Burke spoke briefly to the press outside the courtroom, claiming that police had not behaved appropriately during and after the arrest and insisting that his client was not drunk the night of his arrest.
“The police have made some serious mistakes,” he said. “Sometimes the police, like all of us, make mistakes.”
The night of his arrest, the so-called “Prince of Pop” told the arresting officer that he had drunk one martini at The American Hotel and that he was following some friends home, the documents state.
The 10-time Grammy winner was released without bail later in the morning after being arraigned in Sag Harbor on a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence.
It’s no coincidence or surprise that Timberlake hired Burke to represent him in the case.
He is known as the lawyer you always call when celebrities and the rich and powerful are arrested in the Hamptons.
Timberlake’s attorney Edward Burke Jr. appeared in court in Sag Harbor on July 26 on behalf of the pop star to ask Judge Carl Irace to dismiss the case stemming from the June 18 incident.
Timberlake is currently in Europe for his Forget Tomorrow World Tour, which hits Belgium for two nights on Saturday. He is pictured performing in Hershey Park, Pennsylvania on July 4
Burke’s superpower is his skill in legal negotiations and his ability to work the system in the best interests of his clients.
When Jason Kidd, then an NBA All-Star and now the league’s head coach, was caught driving under the influence in 2012 after crashing into a telephone pole in Southampton, it was Burke who stood by.
The charges against Kidd were eventually reduced to a simple misdemeanor.
Burke also supported Goldman Sachs executive Jason Lee when he was charged with rape by East Hampton Town police in 2013.
Lee was eventually acquitted after a trial in 2015.
In 2021, when Dan Gatsby, the husband and manager of restaurateur B Smith, who had died the year before, crashed the Mercedes-Benz he was driving into another vehicle in Sag Harbor, severely damaging both vehicles, and then refused to take a breath test at the police station after being charged with drunk driving, it was Burke who got the call.
Gatsby, like Jason Kidd, was eventually allowed to plead to a misdemeanor, leaving him without a criminal record, unusual in a case that involved both an accident and a refusal.