Justin Timberlake's license suspended in New York as judge cautions lawyer over remarks that could 'poison the case

Justin Timberlake won’t be driving in New York for a while.

The singer, who pleaded “not guilty” to a revised misdemeanor charge of driving drunk in the Hamptons in June, had his license suspended, according to PEOPLE. The length of the suspension is unclear, but Timberlake’s lawyer, Edward Burke Jr., described it as “standard.”

On Friday, Timberlake appeared virtually from Antwerp, Belgium, where he is currently on his “Forget Tomorrow” tour. Burke also withdrew a previous motion to dismiss the case. The next hearing is scheduled for August 9.

Timberlake’s license suspension wasn’t the only issue. Sag Harbor Village Justice Carl Irace threatened Burke with a gag order due to his insistence that “Timberlake was not intoxicated.”

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Burke said, “The most important fact to know about this case is that Justin was not intoxicated and should not have been arrested for DWI. 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.”

Responding to Burke’s comments, Irace advised Burke to “be more mindful when giving comments” and criticized him for his remarks to the press following the previous hearing on July 26.

“It comes off as an attempt to poison the case before it even begins,” Irace said. The judge also noted that if Burke’s comments persisted, he would require Timberlake to appear in person, which would necessitate Timberlake’s return from his world tour—a concern Timberlake reportedly expressed immediately upon his arrest.

“We are confident that this charge will be dismissed,” Burke added.

At Friday’s hearing, Burke shifted his approach to an attack on procedural grounds, arguing that the arresting officer’s supervisor didn’t sign off on the criminal complaint.

Timberlake was arrested by local authorities in Sag Harbor on June 18, after being pulled over for failing to stop at a stop sign and weaving in his lane. The local police then determined that “Mr. Timberlake was operating his vehicle in an intoxicated condition.”

Reportedly, Timberlake was returning home from a night out with friends. Police reports described Timberlake as being “in an intoxicated condition” with “bloodshot and glassy” eyes and the scent of “a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage.” Timberlake allegedly told the officers that he had “one martini and I followed my friends home.” However, officers’ reports noted that the pop star “performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests.”

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