Justin Timberlake’s lawyers have claimed the singer was not drunk when he was pulled over and arrested on suspicion of a DWI in Sag Harbor, New York, last month.
“The most important fact to know about this case is that Justin was not intoxicated and should not have been arrested for DWI,” the lawyer, Ed Burke, said in a statement to Rolling Stone after a court hearing on Friday. “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 is due to be re-arraigned on the misdemeanor charge next week.
“Justin respects law enforcement and the very important job that they do. He cooperated with the police officers at all times and treated them with the respect they deserve,” the statement continued. “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.”
The singer was arrested on suspicion of driving in an “intoxicated condition” on June 18 after he allegedly failed to stop at a posted stop sign in the Southampton village of Sag Harbor, New York, a court filing obtained by Rolling Stone stated. He was arraigned on a misdemeanor charge of DWI. He was later released on his own recognizance.
At the time, Timberlake admitted to officers, “I had one martini and I followed my friends home.” However, according to the criminal complaint, officers observed Timberlake driving through the stop sign at the intersection as well as failing to ”keep to the right side of the road.”
“His eyes were bloodshot and glassy, a strong odor of alcoholic beverage was emanating from his breath, he was unable to divide attention, he had slowed speech, he was unsteady afoot, and he performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests,” the one-page filing by prosecutors based on the sworn statements of Sag Harbor Police Officer Michael D. Arkinson read.
After his arrest, Burke told TMZ, “[We] look forward to vigorously defending Mr. Timberlake against these allegations. He will have a lot to say at the appropriate time.”
Timberlake, who is in the middle of a lengthy North American tour in support of his latest album, Everything I Thought It Was, briefly addressed the incident during a concert days later in Chicago. “We’ve been together through ups and downs, lefts and rights,” he said. “It’s been a tough week, but you’re here, and I’m here,” he said while speaking to the crowd. “I know I’m hard to love sometimes but you keep loving me right back.”
