Justin Timberlake’s lawyer said Friday (Jul 26) that the pop singer wasn’t intoxicated during a traffic stop last month, as he seeks to get his drunken driving charge in New York’s Hamptons dismissed, citing errors in documents submitted by police.
But Sag Harbor Village Justice Justice Carl Irace ordered Timberlake to be re-arraigned Aug 2 with the corrected paperwork. He also agreed the former NSYNC member, who is currently on tour in Europe, could appear virtually for the proceeding. Timberlake didn’t attend Friday’s hearing as his appearance was waived in advance.
Timberlake’s lawyer, Edward Burke, said after the hearing that police made “very significant errors” and expects the charge to be dismissed. He also maintained that Timberlake didn’t drive drunk.
“He was not intoxicated,” Burke told reporters outside court. “I’ll say it again. Justin Timberlake was not intoxicated.”
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney’s office, which is prosecuting the case, described the paperwork issue as a “ministerial error” and that an amended charging document was filed Jul 2.
“The facts and circumstance of the case have not been changed or amended,” spokesperson Emily O’Neil said in an email.
Burke, in a follow-up statement, suggested there were other problems with the arrest documents but didn’t elaborate.
“The police made a number of very significant errors in this case,” he said. “In court today, you heard the district attorney try to fix one of those errors. But that’s just one and there are many others. Sometimes the police make mistakes and this is just one of those instances.”
Timberlake respects law enforcement and the judicial process and cooperated with officers and treated them with respect throughout his arrest last month, Burke added.
