Prison sentence for Justin Timberlake?

While singer Justin Timberlake has been on tour for the past few months, he faced a prison sentence and a hefty fine. The singer was suspected of driving under the influence, but he now manages to avoid that charge. He does admit to a lesser charge and gets away with a fine of ‘only’ a few hundred dollars.

The singer was arrested in June after he allegedly went out to dinner with friends. He ignored a stop sign and swerved across the road. According to the officers, he smelled strongly of alcohol and had a glazed look in his eyes. Timberlake insisted he was innocent and had only drunk one martini. Because he refused to take a blood and breath test, he lost his driver's license in the state of New York for at least a year. Fortunately for his fans, he was allowed to continue touring Europe and attended earlier hearings via video link. During his shows in Amsterdam, it was still uncertain how all of this would turn out.

Now, three months later, the singer has struck a deal with the American justice system. The charge of driving under the influence will be dropped, but Timberlake admits to driving with impaired abilities. ‘Driving While Ability Impaired’, as they call it in the US. It may sound strange, but it relates to the amount of alcohol he would have had in his blood and makes a big difference in punishment. In New York, a distinction is made between percentages below and above 0.08 percent alcohol. Anything above that is driving under the influence and constitutes a criminal offense with imprisonment. If you stay below it, it's ‘just’ a traffic violation with a fine.

The exact amount will be determined on Friday when the case is heard one more time. After that, the singer can put the whole incident behind him and continue his tour with peace of mind. He can afford those few hundred dollars. Starting in October, he will continue his ‘Forget Tomorrow Tour’ in the United States.