Justin Timberlake Arrives at Court to Plead Guilty, Looks Serious

9:07 AM PT — The judge has officially accepted Justin Timberlake‘s plea deal … and he will do 25 hours community service within one year, and pay a fine up to $500. The judge thanked Justin for all that he said and for speaking from the heart. His license in NY State will have a 90-day suspension.

9:04 AM PT — The judge asks Justin Timberlake how the court can be certain this won’t happen again … and, he responds he can say with “the utmost honesty I won’t be back here again” — joking he doesn’t mean Sag Harbor, ’cause he loves the city.

9:00 AM PT — JT’s saying he’s had time to reflect on his actions and didn’t live up to his own personal standards. He says he understands his platform, one he spent a life building.

Timberlake adds he’s grateful for the opportunity to learn, and he should’ve made a better decision for himself. He says he was raised on a certain set of values … and, this isn’t it.

8:57 AM PT — Justin has just confessed to consuming alcoholic beverages before his arrest and driving impaired — a total 180 from back in July when his lawyer claimed he wasn’t intoxicated when cops pulled him over.

8:53 AM PT — Justin Timberlake’s court appearance is underway … and, as part of the guilty plea, he’s agreed to do 25-40 hours of community service, and he will make a public service announcement, presumably about driving while impaired.

Remember, back in the day, Justin and the rest of *NSYNC made a PSA about drunk driving … so, familiar territory for the the star.

Justin Timberlake just arrived at the Sag Harbor courthouse to enter his plea in his driving while ability impaired case, and the pop star ain’t smiling in the clip.

The singer-songwriter arrived in a navy blue sweater and brown-gray slacks, rose-colored sunglasses covering his eyes … and, a serious expression on his face as he marched up the stairs toward his hearing.

There’s a lot of shouting and yelling from photogs in the clip … and, someone asks if he has a message for his fans — though he chooses not to respond.

Not everyone’s in support of Justin though … at least one protester — holding a photo of a young boy, presumably killed in a drunk driving accident — is hanging around the courthouse. It’s possible she’s protesting the plea deal Justin received.

TMZ broke the story … JT plans to plead guilty to this lesser charge — a traffic offense, a way smaller offense when compared to the original DWI charge, and then officially put this case behind him.

While Justin’s charge has the word “impaired” in it, it’s not a drunk driving offense … and, we knew he’d only have to pay a small fine between $300 and $500 — barely even a slap on the wrist for the mega-rich star.

Justin’s driver’s license is suspended In New York … standard procedure for anyone who turns down a Breathalyzer like cops say Justin did back in June.

As we told you … Timberlake was arrested on June 18 after cops say he blew through a stop sign and failed to stay on the right side of the road. Cops say he failed all of the field sobriety tests and ultimately arrested him — releasing him the following morning.

Timberlake’s had to enter his plea of not guilty twice — getting arraigned a second time after his lawyers challenged the first set of charging documents because of some sort of error.

He’s since changed his tune and decided to plead guilty to the lesser charge.

JT’s cracked jokes a few times during his world tour … mainly poking fun at himself. We’ll have to wait and see if he laughs this guilty plea off too.