{"id":1238,"date":"2026-03-27T13:53:05","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T13:53:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cornell1a.law.cornell.edu\/blog\/?p=1238"},"modified":"2026-04-01T16:17:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T16:17:35","slug":"timberlake-video-released-21-months-after-clinic-clients-initial-foil-request","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cornell1a.law.cornell.edu\/blog\/index.php\/timberlake-video-released-21-months-after-clinic-clients-initial-foil-request\/","title":{"rendered":"Timberlake Video Released 21 Months After Clinic Client\u2019s Initial FOIL Request"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sag Harbor Village released redacted bodycam video of Justine Timberlake\u2019s 2024 arrest in response to a Freedom of Information Law request by The Express News Group, publisher of Sag Harbor Express, a client of The Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic\u2019s Local Journalism Project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Police bodycam footage exists largely for public accountability \u2014 it shouldn\u2019t be kept hidden, especially in a case like this, where there\u2019s no legitimate reason for it to be secret.”<\/p>– Cornell Clinic Attorney Michael Linhorst<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A temporary restraining order imposed by New York State County Court Judge and Acting Supreme Court Justice Joseph Farneti on March 5 had barred the release. The order prevented Sag Harbor Village, the Sag Harbor Village Police Department, and Sag Harbor Village Police Chief Robert Drake from disseminating the video footage, which had been slated for release in response to Freedom of Information Law requests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re glad to see that the Freedom of Information Law finally worked as it\u2019s supposed to and these public records were made public,\u201d Cornell First Amendment Clinic Local Journalism Attorney Michael Linhorst, who assisted with the FOIL appeal, said. \u201cPolice bodycam footage exists largely for public accountability \u2014 it shouldn\u2019t be kept hidden, especially in a case like this, where there\u2019s no legitimate reason for it to be secret.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A redacted video was released on March 21 after attorneys for Timberlake and Sag Harbor Village reached an agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Timberlake was arrested on June 18, 2024, and charged with driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor, but pleaded guilty on September 13, 2024, in Sag Harbor Village Justice Court to a lesser charge of driving while ability impaired by alcohol, a traffic infraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The day after the arrest, The Express News Group filed its first Freedom of Information request for the bodycam and dashcam video footage and audio recordings related to the pursuit, investigation, and arrest of Timberlake, which was denied. Police withheld the video on the grounds that its release would interfere with a pending judicial proceeding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A second FOIL request after the guilty plea was entered was denied on the grounds that a protective order from Sag Harbor Village Justice Court prohibited its release. The Cornell Clinic appealed the denials each time. After the village\u2019s counsel agreed to begin releasing the footage, an attorney for Timberlake successfully argued in village court that the protective order applied to bar the footage\u2019s release. In doing so, the village court rejected the Clinic\u2019s argument that the protective order did not extend to the police department, which was not a party to the order, and that the order did not nullify the public\u2019s rights under FOIL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more background information on the FOIL requests and the released footage, see:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

21 Months Later, Timberlake Arrest Video Is Released, The Sag Harbor Express<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch: Justin Timberlake\u2019s June 2024 Arrest in Sag Harbor Village, The Sag Harbor Express<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Court Grants Temporary Restraining Order To Block Release of Justin Timberlake Arrest Bodycam Footage, The Sag Harbor Express<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Justin Timberlake\u2019s Attorneys Go to Court Again To Block Release of Pop Star\u2019s June 2024 Sag Harbor Arrest Video, The Sag Harbor Express<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sag Harbor Village released redacted bodycam video of Justine Timberlake\u2019s 2024 arrest in response to a Freedom of Information Law request by The Express News Group, publisher of Sag Harbor Express, a client of The Cornell Law School First Amendment Clinic\u2019s Local Journalism Project. “Police bodycam footage exists largely for public accountability \u2014 it shouldn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cornell1a.law.cornell.edu\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1238"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cornell1a.law.cornell.edu\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cornell1a.law.cornell.edu\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cornell1a.law.cornell.edu\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cornell1a.law.cornell.edu\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1238"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/cornell1a.law.cornell.edu\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1331,"href":"https:\/\/cornell1a.law.cornell.edu\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1238\/revisions\/1331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cornell1a.law.cornell.edu\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cornell1a.law.cornell.edu\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cornell1a.law.cornell.edu\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}