Justin Timberlake's driver's license suspended in Sag Harbor DWI case hearing
Timberlake's attorney was also admonished for his “irresponsible” comments at the previous hearing.
The Friday hearing for Justin Timberlake's driving while intoxicated (DWI) case did not go as planned for the pop star.
Sag Harbor Justice Carl Irace suspended the NSYNC member's driving privileges in New York State for refusing to take a breathalyser test when cops pulled him over in the Hamptons on June 18. The suspension period has not been determined yet.
Timberlake, currently in the middle of his world tour, punched in his virtual attendance for the proceedings from Antwerp, Belgium. The “Suit & Tie” crooner appeared in a black collared shirt via video conference for the hearing, where his attorney was also reprimanded for his “irresponsible” remarks during the last court hearing. Irace admonished the singer's attorney, Edward Burke Jr, claiming that his commentary “comes off as an attempt to poison the case before it even begins.”
Not only that, the judge even threatened to issue a gag order if the legal representative continued walking that path.
During the previous hearing, Burke pushed the idea that Timberlake was “not intoxicated” at the time of the June 18 incident.
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The Sag Harbor hearing in New York, which lasted for about half an hour, comes over a month after the pop singer was pulled over for failing sobriety tests while driving. He was arrested on the spot on suspicion of DWI early morning on a Tuesday in the Hamptons, Long Island.
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At the time, Timberlake insisted he had consumed only “one martini” before being pulled over. He's pleaded not guilty, and the next court hearing for his ongoing case will be a lawyer conference on Friday, August 9.
The hearing ended with the judge reprimanding the pop star's attorney again, emphasising he should “raise the bar, not lower it.” Irace also scolded Burke Jr, claiming that he may leave Timberlake no choice but to appear in person for future hearings if the attorney continued making “irresponsible” claims to the media. Burke ultimately withdrew his motion to dismiss the case. The judge previously said he would review the motion but implied the arraignment would proceed as scheduled.
Timberlake's attorney further found a foundation of defence in a new development TMZ reported earlier this week that cops had permitted one of the singer's drinking pals to get behind his rented BMW's wheel and drive it to their place after his arrest. According to the report, it was implied that Burke would divert the case's attention to officers' erroneous judgement in letting the person Timberlake had been drinking with that night at The American Hotel drive away without an issue while treating the singer's situation differently.
The Social Network actor is a first-time offender facing the DWI charge. He could face up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $2,500. As foregrounded in the latest court hearing, Timberlake has already been stripped of his driving privileges in New York.