Justin Timberlake’s lawyer says the pop singer wasn’t intoxicated, argues DUI charges should be dropped

Justin Timberlake David’s lawyer said Friday that the pop singer was not intoxicated during a traffic stop last month while seeking to obtain his drunk driving charge in the New York Hamptons rejected, citing errors in documents submitted by police.

But Sag Harbor Village Judge Carl Irace ordered Timberlake to be prosecuted again on Aug. 2 with corrected paperwork.

He also agreed that the former NSYNC member, who is currently on tour in Europe, could attend the proceedings virtually. Timberlake did not attend Friday’s hearing because his appearance was waived early.

Timberlake’s attorney, Edward Burke, said after the hearing that police made “very significant mistakes” and expects the charge to be dismissed. He also stated that Timberlake did not drive drunk.

“He was not intoxicated,” Burke told reporters outside the courtroom. “I’ll say it again. Justin Timberlake was not intoxicated.”

The office of Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney, who is prosecuting the case, described the paperwork issue as a “ministerial error” and that an amended charging document was filed on July 2.

“The facts and circumstances of the case have not been changed or corrected,” spokeswoman Emily O’Neil said in an email.

Burke, in a follow-up statement, suggested there were other problems with the arrest documents but did not elaborate.

“The police made a series of very significant mistakes in this case,” he said. “In court today, you heard the district attorney try to right one of those wrongs. But this is just one and there are many others. Sometimes the police make mistakes and this is just one of those cases.”

Timberlake respects law enforcement and the judicial process and cooperated with officers and treated them with respect during his arrest last month, Burke added.

Tierney’s office declined to respond to Burke’s comments.

“We stand ready to litigate the facts underlying this case in court, not in the press,” O’Neil said.

Timberlake was charged with the misdemeanor on June 18 after police said he ran a stop sign and left his lane in Sag Harbor, a former whaling village mentioned in Herman Melville’s classic novel “Moby-Dick,” set in the middle of the Hamptons, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of New York City.

The boy band singer turned solo star and actor was driving a 2025 BMW around 12:30 a.m. when a police officer pulled him over and determined he was intoxicated, according to a court document.

“His eyes were bloodshot and glassy, ​​a strong odor of alcohol emanated from his breath, he was unable to divide his attention, his speech was slow, he was unsteady, and he performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests,” the court documents said. .

Timberlake, 43, told the officer at the time that he had a martini and was following some friends home, according to the documents. After being arrested and taken to a police station in nearby East Hampton, he refused a breathalyzer test.

The 10-time Grammy winner began performing as a young Disney Mouseketeer, rose to fame as part of the boy band NSYNC and embarked on a solo career in the early 2000s.

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Associated Press reporter Karen Matthews in New York contributed to this story.