By Priscilla DeGregory, NY Post
Published June 18, 2024, 6:02 p.m. ET
Justin Timberlake is likely to get a slap on the wrist if he’s convicted of drunk driving — but not because he’s a celebrity, a legal expert told The Post.
The “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” singer — who was arrested during a traffic stop on Sag Harbor, LI early Tuesday — would face up to a year in jail if he was found guilty of the DWI rap.
But his seasoned attorney, Eddie Burke Jr., will likely make a bid for a lesser charge of driving while ability impaired (DWAI), said Suffolk County criminal defense lawyer Michael Brown.
“That’s a violation as opposed to a crime,” Brown explained, adding that the charge comes with only a maximum penalty of 15 days in jail, but noting “It won’t happen. What will happen is a fine of up to $500 dollars.”
Timberlake, 43, is in “good hands,” Brown said, noting the star’s attorney is “a very good attorney, very-well known, established with the DAs in Suffolk County.”
A favorable outcome in the case wouldn’t be because of Timberlake’s celebrity status, though, Brown — who worked as a prosecutor in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office from 1992 to 1995 — said.
“I don’t think [the DA’s Office] will make an example of him nor will they be more lenient. I think the case will rise and fall on the merits of the case,” he said.
But Brown warned that the office is known for being “fairly tough” in cases where people refuse to take a Breathalyzer test.
“We all have a job to do” he noted.
Police said the “SexyBack” artist refused to take a Breathalyzer and showed signs of being drunk when he was stopped for blowing through a stop sign and swerving on the road while driving a grey 2025 BMW.
Timberlake, a married dad of two who has acknowledged previous issues with “excessive drinking,” was released without bail after his arraignment later Tuesday morning on a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated. He was also cited for running a stop sign and failure to keep in his lane, court documents show.
Prosecutors in the office “acknowledge that it’s difficult to establish intoxication just through observation,” Brown said.
“It’s hard to distinguish often between impairment and intoxication, those are the two levels,” he explained.
Brown said the footage from a body camera that the arresting cop was wearing would likely be the “best evidence” in the case.
“Good lawyering will often get the charges reduced to the lesser included charge and not the criminal charge of driving while impaired,” the seasoned attorney said.
The criminal complaint against the former NSYNC pop star, alleged “his eyes were bloodshot and glassy, a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage was emanating from his breath, he was unable to divide attention, he had slowed speech, he was unsteady afoot, and he performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests.”
Brown said this was “boilerplate” language that he sees in all of his DWI cases.
The language “is in every single misdemeanor information that I have seen in the last 32 years of my career,” Brown said.
“Every single DWI charge will say glassy-eyed, slurred speech, unsteady on his feet, strong smell of alcoholic beverage,” Brown said. “Those are the four things you see in every misdemeanor information.”
The attorney added that the arresting officers will also say that the person they pulled over failed field sobriety tests, which they did in Timberlake’s case.
Timberlake — who is married to actress Jessica Biel — allegedly said the arrest was “going to ruin the tour” when he was arrested.
