Justin Timberlake will be virtually arraigned on a drunken driving charge next Friday while he continues his "Forget Tomorrow World Tour" in Europe, a New York judge decided Friday.
Timberlake, 43, did not attend the hearing at the Sag Harbor Village Justice Court stemming from his drunk driving arrest on June 18 as he is performing concerts in Kraków, Poland on Friday and Saturday.
Village Justice Carl Irace also agreed to review a motion from Timberlake's attorney, Edward Burke Jr., to dismiss the case outright based on what the lawyer called a procedurally "defective" criminal complaint filed by Timberlake's arresting officer, Deadline reports.
Burke claimed the "young" and "part-time" officer failed to have a supervising officer sign off on the criminal complaint.
Burke maintained the "Sexyback" singer's innocence Friday in a statement to Newsweek.
"The most important fact to know about this case is that Justin was not intoxicated and should not have been arrested for DWI," he said.
"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."
The statement continues, "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. He also respects the entire judicial process including the District Attorney and Judge who were in court today."
"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," Burke concluded.
Newsweek contacted has contacted the court for comment.
On June 17, Timberlake was detained overnight by the Sag Harbor Police Department before his arraignment at the village courthouse the following morning. Police documents reported by the Associated Press claimed officers observed Timberlake running a stop light, swerving multiple times, and failing to maintain his lane while driving his BMW through the village after midnight.
The arresting officer did not know who Timberlake was, Page Six reported. The singer allegedly said under his breath at the time of his arrest, "This is going to ruin the tour." The cop asked, "What tour?" and Timberlake replied, "The world tour."
Timberlake refused to take a breathalyzer test following his arrest, allegedly telling officers, "I had one martini and followed my friends home." The documents noted Timberlake's "bloodshot and glassy" eyes, the "strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his breath," and his poor performance on all standardized field sobriety tests.
In a recent conversation with Interview magazine, Girls star Zosia Mamet suggested perhaps Timberlake's arrest was a marketing ploy to promote the tour.
"My favorite thing that I've heard about the DUI was when Whitney Cummings posted something that was like, 'I honestly didn't even know that Justin Timberlake had gone on tour until I saw his mugshot,'" Mamet said. "So maybe it's a DUI, or he's just a marketing genius."
On Thursday, a source told Entertainment Tonight that Timberlake is "prepared to face whatever consequences he needs to" for the Long Island incident.
"He is hoping to learn from this experience and put it behind him. Jess [Biel] is extremely supportive and helping him navigate everything," the insider said of his wife. "Justin is still putting his energy into his family and focus on his tour. He is ready to move forward in a positive way and pouring himself into his work commitments and even creating new music."
Alcohol also got JT in trouble in 2019 when paparazzi caught him holding hands with his Palmer costar Alisha Wainwright in New Orleans. He publicly apologized to Biel in a lengthy Instagram statement, admitting he "drank way too much that night" but "nothing happened between me and my costar."
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