Lehigh County Senior Deputy District Attorney Anna-Kristie Morffi Marks has announced she will run for judge in the county’s Court of Common Pleas.

“I have been blessed to have spent a large portion of my career being the voice for child victims,” Morffi Marks said in a news release. “Now, I want to take my courtroom experience as a prosecutor in handling the toughest cases while staying fair and impartial and provide a court where justice is both served and the rights of all are protected. I also want to take my life experiences as a daughter, mother and wife to hear both sides of every issue and find the proper balance, serving both justice and the community at the same time.”

While working at the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office, Morffi Marks has handled several thousand adult criminal cases, as well as more than 1,200 juvenile cases. Initially, she handled a general criminal case docket comprised of drugs, thefts, forgery and burglary cases. She then was assigned violent crimes, including robberies and aggravated assaults. Her general conviction rate is more than 97 percent.

Currently, she is assigned to the special victims unit. In this unit, her jury trials included a baby homicide cold case, sexual assaults on children, stalking, aggravated assaults, indecent assaults on children, endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors.

She was raised in the Lehigh Valley and attended St. Catharine of Siena and Parkland High School, where she was a member of the golf team.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and Latin American studies at the University of Delaware. She earned her law degree from Touro Law Center on Long Island, N.Y.

Morffi Marks helped to establish the John Van Brakle Child Advocacy Center at Lehigh Valley Children’s Hospital, Lehigh Valley Health Network. This center is the first hospital-based CAC in the Lehigh Valley. She is a member of the multidisciplinary team of the CAC. She also works with the sexual assault nurse examiners at Lehigh Valley Health Network and teaches legal topics to law enforcement cadets at Allentown Police Academy.

Morffi Marks presents a sexting prevention presentation in local schools, as well as to community and parent groups.

She resides in the Lehigh Valley with her husband, Michael Marks, chief of Whitehall Township Police Department, and their two children. She is bilingual.