There’s been a lot of developments today regarding Justin Timberlake’s DWI. During his virtual court hearing today he pled not guilty to the misdemeanor charge of driving drunk, and he had his driver's license revoked. Now, the judge is scolding the pop singer’s lawyer over how he's been speaking to the media about the case.
This whole situation has been highly publicized, and according to People, Sag Harbor Village Justice Carl Irace has not liked how Timberlake’s lawyer, Edward Burke Jr., has been speaking to the press, so much so that he warned him to “be mindful when giving comments.” The judge also added that it feels like Burke’s statements:
…come off as an attempt to poison the case before it even begins.
This led to Irace saying that if the comments continue, he might implement a gag order, which would make it so Burke and others couldn’t speak about the case publically. The judge also said that he could require Timberlake to show up to court in person. This comes after the singer attended court virtually from Antwerp, Belgium. He’s been on tour (apparently he even joked about the DWI on stage), and at the moment, he’s on the European leg.
Over the course of this investigation, Burke has maintained that Timberlake wasn’t intoxicated while driving. There were also reports that there was allegedly evidence to help get it dismissed.
The lawyer has spoken a fair amount about the proceedings, and he told People in a statement on July 26:
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 went on to explain in the same statement that it’s possible the police made errors in the case, explaining:
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.
In the same statement, the lawyer said they were working to dismiss the case.
In his public comments to the media, he’s also maintained that notion, telling WABC:
He was not intoxicated. I'll say it again. Justin Timberlake was not intoxicated. And we are very confident that charge, that criminal charge, will be dismissed.
However, during this latest hearing, he withdrew that motion.
Since the arrest happened, there have been reports that the cops were tipped off about Timberlake, and there was a claim that he was “advised not to drive” that night. Apparently, people had seen him drinking at a hotel, and they watched him drive away. An insider also claimed that “he has a real drinking problem.” However, as stated earlier, there are also alleged claims that could help support his innocence. So, there are a lot of rumors floating around for and against the “Cry Me A River” singer, and it’s hard to know what’s true and what’s not.
All around, there’s still a lot we don’t know about this case, and it seems like the judge wants to get to the bottom of it based on his words to Justin Timberlake’s lawyer regarding media attention. As this situation develops, we’ll be sure to keep you posted.
