A month after Justin Timberlake was charged with drunk driving, a lawyer for the pop star claimed the singer was “not intoxicated” and “should not have been arrested for DWI.”
After appearing at a court hearing on Friday, Timberlake’s attorney, Ed Burke, said the police made “significant errors” during their investigation on the evening of June 18.
“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 to Fox News Digital. “The police made a number of very significant errors in this case. 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.”
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Justin Timberlake was arrested on June 18 for driving while intoxicated. (Getty Images/Sag Harbor Police Department)
Burke appeared on behalf of Timberlake at the hearing on Friday. The *NSYNC star had waived his appearance and was not required to be there. However, he will need to appear virtually at the next hearing on Aug. 2.
Burke emphasized that Timberlake “respects law enforcement” with the utmost regard and fully understands the “important work” they do on a daily basis.
“He cooperated with the police officers at all times and treated them with the respect they deserve,” Burke said in his statement. “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,” he concluded. “We are confident that this charge will be dismissed.”
Justin Timberlake’s attorney claims the singer was “not intoxicated” at the time of his DWI arrest. (Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
Timberlake was arrested in his gray 2025 BMW in Sag Harbor on Long Island, New York, around 12:15 a.m. on June 18. He failed to stop at a stop sign and was unable to stay in the right lane before he was pulled over, then “performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests,” according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
“But the fact remains, he was not intoxicated and they made an error in arresting him for it.”
He had “bloodshot and glossy eyes,” was “unable to divide his attention” and had a “strong odor of an alcoholic beverage… emanating from his breath.” He was “unsteady afoot” and exhibited “slow speech,” the arresting officer wrote.
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The “SexyBack” singer told the arresting officer he had one martini at The American Hotel and was following some friends home. He was taken to a police station in East Hampton, where he refused a breathalyzer test.
WATCH: JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE DRIVING IN THE HAMPTONS SHORTLY BEFORE ARREST
The Sag Harbor police officer who pulled Timberlake over said he didn’t know who the singer was or recognize his name, Page Six reported. As captured on body camera footage, the officer responded “What tour?” when the performer said under his breath that the arrest was “going to ruin the tour.”
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Justin Timberlake arrives at the premiere of “Candy” at El Capitan Theatre on Los Angeles on May 9, 2022. (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
Timberlake was charged with one count of driving while intoxicated along with citations for failure to keep right and failure to stop at a stop sign, the district attorney’s office confirmed to Fox News at the time.
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The Associated Press and Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Stanton and Larry Fink contributed to this report.