Justin Timberlake‘s lawyer claimed that the pop star was not drunk at the time of his arrest on a DWI charge in Sag Harbor in June.
Ed Burke, Timberlake’s lawyer, made the comments after a court hearing on Friday. Timberlake is due to be re-arraigned on the misdemeanor charge next week, after prosecutors corrected a defect in the complaint.
“The most important fact to know about this case is that Justin was not intoxicated and should not have been arrested for DWI,” Burke said in a statement provided to Variety. “The police made a number of very significant errors in this case… Sometimes the police make mistakes and this is just one of those instances.”
Timberlake, 43, was arrested on June 18 when a Sag Harbor officer spotted him weaving out of a lane and failing to stop at a stop sign. According to the officer, Timberlake performed poorly on a field sobriety test. He also refused to take a Breathalyzer test. The officer reported that his eyes were “bloodshot” and “glassy,” and that he smelled of alcohol.
He told the police had one martini, and had followed his friends home, according to the police report.
Burke argued that the original charging document should be thrown out because a police sergeant did not sign it.
Timberlake was not in court on Friday. He is in Poland on a world tour, and is set to attend the next hearing on Aug. 2 virtually.
“Justin respects law enforcement and the very important job that they do,” Burke said in the statement. “He cooperated with the police officers at all times and treated them with the respect they deserve. He also respects the entire judicial process including the District Attorney and Judge who were in court today. But the fact remains, he was not intoxicated and they made an error in arresting him for it. We are confident that this charge will be dismissed.”
Source Agencies
