Justin Timberlake pleaded not guilty to driving while intoxicated (DWI) during a virtual court appearance on Friday.
The Mirrors singer was arrested in Sag Harbor, New York in June and subsequently charged with one count of DWI and issued two citations, one for driving past a stop sign and one for failing to remain in his car lane.
He appeared virtually at a court hearing in Sag Harbor on Friday and entered a plea of not guilty to a revised misdemeanour charge of drunk driving, according to Deadline.
During the hearing, Sag Harbor Village Justice Carl Irace suspended the pop singer’s driving licence, meaning he is not allowed to drive in the state of New York for potentially six months.
Irace also threatened Timberlake’s attorney, Edward Burke, with a gag order for remarks he made to reporters outside court last week.
“It comes off as an attempt to poison the case before it even begins,” Irace said.
Burke told journalists last week that Timberlake “was not intoxicated” when he was pulled over on 18 June and accused police officers of making “very significant errors” in the case, prompting him to call for a dismissal.
Deadline reports that Burke withdrew his earlier motion to dismiss the case during Friday’s hearing.
Timberlake, 43, appeared via video link from Antwerp, Belgium, where he will perform on Saturday and Sunday night as part of his Forget Tomorrow World Tour. He may be compelled to attend court in person in the future.
The next hearing is due to take place on Friday 9 August.
