The musician pleaded not guilty to a charge of driving while intoxicated last month. Timberlake was accused of driving under the influence in Long Island, New York on June 18.
Following an initial appearance in court, the ‘Rock Your Body’ star was released without bail and was charged with a “single count” of driving while intoxicated because he “refused the breath test” when he was arrested.
Now, Village Justice Carl Irace has suspended Timberlake’s driving licence in New York State because of his refusal to take a breathalyser test. The judge did not say how long the suspension would last while Timberlake attended the hearing via video call.
At one point, the judge, as per NBC, reportedly admonished Timberlake’s lawyer, Edward Burke Jr, for making “irresponsible” comments to the media last week.
Burke Jr had previously vowed to “vigorously” defend him as false drug use claims swirled on social media and last week (July 26), reiterated that Timberlake was not drunk in a hearing at the DWI case.
He was not intoxicated. I’ll say it again. Justin Timberlake was not intoxicated,” he said, per The Independent. “And we are very confident that charge, that criminal charge, will be dismissed.”
Burke also claimed that the officers responding to the incident “made a number of very significant errors in this case”, and that Timberlake “cooperated” fully: “From the second he was ordered out of his car to the second he was charged.”
He alleged that the police, “like every one of us, make mistakes”.
Today, the judge said that the comments “comes off as an attempt to poison the case before it even begins,” before urging him to be more cautious with his comments in the future.
