‘Poison’: Judge erupts at Justin Timberlake case
The judge overseeing the drink driving case of Justin Timberlake has lashed out at the pop star’s lawyer in court.
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Pop star Justin Timberlake has had his driving licence suspended after he was pulled over in June and arrested for drunk driving.
On Friday in the US, local time, Timberlake pleaded not guilty to the charge.
But in a testy court appearance, the judge threatened to put a gag order on Timberlake’s lawyer accusing him of trying to “poison” the trial.
Timberlake was pulled over on June 18 in the town of Sag Harbor in the ritzy Hamptons region of Long Island, New York State.
He allegedly swerved to the wrong side of the road twice, failed to halt at a stop sign, refused to take a breathalyser test three times and was “glassy eyed,” according to a police report.
The arresting officer added Timberlake “had slowed speech, he was unsteady afoot and he performed poorly on all standardised field sobriety tests”.
Timberlake had been at the American Hotel bar and restaurant prior to his arrest.
He said he had drunk just “one martini and I followed my friend’s home“.
The 43-year-old singer was held overnight in a cell at East Hampton police station, 160km east of New York City, and the next day was charged with one count of driving while intoxicated.
It’s been reported that during the arrest, Timberlake suffered the indignity of not being recognised by the young officer.
“He didn’t recognise him or his name,” the insider told the New York Post.
‘Poison’
On Friday, he appeared at the court appearance virtually from Antwerp in Belgium, where he is on tour.
He was composed and wore a black buttoned shirt. He spoke only twice saying “yes” to two questions from Justice Carl Irace.
At the appearance, the judge suspended the pop singer’s licence due his refusal to take a breathalyser test on June 18.
Justice Irace also had a warning for the star’s lawyer Edward Burke Jr.
The followed comments made by Mr Burke to the media last week where he claimed Timberlake was “not intoxicated” at the time he was pulled over. He also moved to dismiss the charges because some paperwork in the case wasn’t signed.
“The police made a number of very significant errors in this case. You heard the District Attorney try to fix one of those errors, but that’s just one, and there are many others,” Mr Burke said last week.
“Sometimes the police, like every one of us, make mistakes. And that’s the case in this very instance”.
Justice Irace said the lawyer’s comments “comes off as an attempt to poison the case before it even begins”.
He said he might put a gag order on Mr Burke or compel Timberlake to appear in person in court in Long Island at future court appearances.
Upon receiving properly signed paperwork the judge also dismissed the application to halt the case.
The case returns to court on August 9.
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Originally published as ‘Poison’: Judge erupts at Justin Timberlake case
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