Attorney Jacqueline Choi, an ultra-marathoner from Leonia, was sworn in this afternoon

Attorney Jacqueline Choi, an ultra-marathoner from Leonia, was sworn in this afternoon as Bergen County’s first female Korean-American assistant prosecutor by Presiding Judge Liliana De Avila-Silebi in her Hackensack courtroom.

Choi, a 1998 Leonia High School graduate whose father, Philip Choi, is a borough councilman, had been with the Bergen County Mental Health Law Project.

She served as a staff attorney there since June, 2011, handling family law, landlord-tenant issues and municipal legal issues for clients who are economically disadvantaged and have a history of severe mental illness.

Choi is also an ultra-marathoner who was the 10th-fastest female runner in the 2011 USA Track and Field 24-Hour National Championships.

(NOTE: An ultra-marathon is run with a goal of finishing as opposed to fastest time, and is a distance that can vary but is more than 26.2 miles.)

Choi, 31, thanked Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli and First Assistant Prosecutor John Higgins for the opportunity.

“It’s a privilege to be able to work for one of the finest legal organizations in the country, and it’s a momentous day for my family.”

She also said: “I want to thank my family for being fantastic role models.”

Choi’s father credited the community for giving her the grounding of a wonderful education.

“It is a credit to my family and the whole community, ” he said. “She is working for American justice, and I hope it will be just the beginning.”

Introducing Choi, Molinelli said, “Like most of the people I hire these days, she is far more qualified than I was.”

Choi originally studied medicine for two years at New Jersey Medical School, then attended graduate school at Harvard, and earned a law degree from the University of Virginia.

She recently completed the Great Cranberry Island 50 k in Maine (see Facebook photo), 31 miles of back-and-forth running on a 4-mile stretch of road.

At the end of the July run, finishers were awarded a medal and a rock, which symbolizes a piece of the island that they take with them.

Choi, in what is a signature move, leapt high — even with the rock in hand.

Choi’s family moved to Leonia from Queens when she was in 2nd grade after they bought Manor Beverages.

She got into running along the Charles River while at Harvard.

Among her inspirations, she cites “Born to Run,” by Christopher McDougall, a book about the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico, who can run hundreds of miles without rest.

Choi has also played viola with the Riverside Orchestra on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

Choi said her work in the Bergen County Mental Health Legal Project was excellent preparation for her new role because it was “my first experience with public service, and it was an introduction to Bergen County’s legal system.”

http://www.cliffviewpilot.com/bergen/4296-jacqueline-choi-first-asian-american-assistant-bergen-prosecutor-sworn-in