NYC judge found to have flaunted position, called woman ‘stupid bitch’ in parking spat outside school
A Brooklyn judge was found to have flaunted her position during a road rage incident last year in which she called a teacher a “stupid bitch,” a state judicial watchdog group said Monday — as it recommended she be formally reprimanded over the spat.
Civil Court Judge Jill Epstein, 64, was charged by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, which has determined she should be publicly admonished for throwing her judicial powers around after she was caught in a traffic jam outside of Boerum Hill’s PS 261 on April 1, 2022.
Epstein — who took office in 2019 — got stuck behind a bus on Pacific Street that was stopped because of a double-parked car in front of it, the SCJC said in its determination.
So she went into the elementary school, handed a safety officer her business card and told him she was a judge and needed to get to work — demanding that an announcement be made over the intercom for the car to be moved, the determination states.
When the owner of the car — a teacher — came out, an enraged Epstein called her a “stupid bitch,” the SCJC said.
The judge also told the teacher, who had a parking placard on her card, that she also had one but it didn’t give her the right to double park, the determination reads.
The CJC said it recommended the lowest penalty against the judge, since she had already faced administrative consequences and had written an apology letter to the teacher.
“A judge must uphold the integrity and dignity of judicial office at all times, on or off the bench, and avoid asserting the judicial title in personal situations, such as when frustrated by a traffic jam,” SCJC Administrator Robert H. Tembeckjian said in a statement.
“Here, Judge Epstein forthrightly accepted responsibility and made amends, allowing for the mildest public discipline available.”
Epstein “regrets her misconduct and acknowledges that, notwithstanding her frustration and anger over a minor traffic incident, her vulgarity and references to her judicial status undermined public confidence in the integrity of the judiciary and violated the rules,” the SCJC’s determination said.
The jurist — who made $196,200 in 2022, according to SeeThroughNY — last year was removed from the civil court’s supervising judge position by Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks after school officials reported the incident to the state Office of Court Administration.
The SCJC’s recommendation will go to the state Court of Appeals to be finalized.
Epstein’s lawyer Deborah Scalise said her client accepts the SCJC’s determination and said the judge “looks forward to putting this unfortunate episode behind her so that she may continue in her service.”
The judge said that she accepts responsibility for the incident and remains committed to her job.
“I acknowledge that even though I did not act in accord with my position in a moment of human frailty while off the bench, I have taken affirmative steps to better myself,” Epstein said in a statement.
“I accept responsibility for my actions. I remain dedicated to being a judge, a position which is an honor and which I hold in the highest regard,” she said. “I will do my best to continue to ensure that justice will be served in my courtroom and to ensure that I meet the high standards expected of a judge.”
The Post exclusively reported last year that Epstein submitted a typo-ridden application for a higher paying state supreme court judge position to the Brooklyn Democratic district leader Douglas Schneider — who said in a Facebook post: “How can I consider you if you can’t even proofread your letter to me?”
Epstein, whose civil court position runs through 2028, failed to mention in the letter her demotion from the supervisory judgeship over the parking spat.
It was not immediately clear if she was still running for the supreme court.
“The SCJC determination speaks for itself,” state courts spokesman Lucian Chalfen said.
