This Brooklyn judge isn’t only spell check-challenged – she’s allegedly guilty of road rage, too, sources told The Post.
Civil Court Judge Jill Epstein – whom The Post exclusively reported submitted an application for a higher-salaried state judgeship stuffed with grammar and spelling errors – boasted in a June 24 cover letter that she once served as the civil court’s supervising judge.
But the 63-year-old jurist failed to mention a very important point in her missive to Democratic district leaders — she was demoted from the supervisory post earlier this year over claims she called a teacher a “bitch” and flaunted her judicial powers while raging outside a traffic-clogged Brooklyn public school.
Multiple sources said Epstein in March flipped out at staffers of PS 261 in Boerum Hill over a double-parked car in front of the Pacific Street school, preventing her from passing.
Epstein allegedly stormed into the school to announce that she was a judge and that the illegally parked car needed to be moved immediately — because she was in danger of being late for work.
“She said she was a judge, and she would take care of this,” a source said.
The vehicle belonged to a teacher, who went out to move it after being notified in an announcement over the school’s public address system. The judge then confronted the teacher outside the school, allegedly calling her a “bitch” in front of stunned parents, according to school staffers.
“This sure sounds like an abuse of her position, and it’s wildly inappropriate,” said one Brooklyn district leader. “I can almost overlook her spelling and grammar issues, but when you use your position for scare tactics — that’s concerning.”
School officials complained about the antics to the state’s Office of Court Administration, and Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks stripped Epstein of her supervisory title, court sources said.
The OCA declined to comment. Messages left with the city’s Department of Education were not returned.
Since 2019, Epstein has earned $196,200 annually as a civil court judge. She’s seeking a state Supreme Court judgeship in Brooklyn, which pays $210,900 yearly, and sources said she had been considered a favorite to get the post.
The Kings County Democratic Committee — which is currently dealing with severe infighting over party leadership — will hold a judicial convention early next month to nominate 10 candidates for vacant state Supreme Court seats carrying 14-year terms. The candidates will be put on the November ballot, along with two incumbents seeking re-election.
New York City judicial races are typically decided by party leaders at conventions — not by voters. Democratic nominees for judgeships in Brooklyn and most other parts of the city usually run unopposed, in part because Republicans are vastly outnumbered and don’t bother to challenge.
Epstein, who writes legal opinions for a living, stunned party leaders by boasting in an error-laden application that her 38-plus years of legal experience includes currently working as as a “Civil Corut [sic] Judge” and past employment as a “Prinvipal [sic] Law Clerk.”
Without revealing her identity, Brooklyn Democratic district leader Douglas Schneider on July 5 posted part of Epstein’s application on Facebook and quipped “This might be the worst letter I have ever received from a judicial candidate.”
“And this person is actually a leading candidate!” he said.
A day later, Epstein emailed party officials and expressed “many apologies and much embarrassment” for accidentally providing an “unedited draft” of her cover letter.
Epstein did not return messages left Friday but told The Post last week she hopes the Brooklyn Democratic Party’s nominating committee understands “we all make mistakes.”
