We are experienced attorneys committed to providing professional & innovative solutions to streamline internal processes and change the lives of offenders.
We are experienced attorneys committed to providing professional & innovative solutions to streamline internal processes and change the lives of offenders.
Choose Alternative Prosecution Programs (APPS)
AJA began in 1994 to address the ever-growing burdens placed on our criminal justice system, including high rates of crime and decreasing budgets. Our distance-learning programs allow prosecutors, judges, or probation departments to refer offenders, giving them the opportunity to avoid the lasting effects of a criminal record.
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• Customization: We have the ability to customize our policies and procedures to fit the needs of each individual branch and/or referring agency.
• Flexibility: We have the capacity to tailor our programs to fit the unique needs of each case, as additional requirements may be imposed on offenders where appropriate.
• Application: We offer offenders the ability to register, login and complete the program in the comfort of their home via our online app.
• Payment Options: We offer payment plans and fee reductions on a sliding scale, as well as fee waivers for no-income offenders.
• High Success Rates: We have a 98% program completion rate for Program participants and have been successful in collecting and distributing over $200,000 in restitution to crime victims.
• Personal Consultation: We have a close relationship with our referring partners, keeping them informed of offender progress from case referral through complete case disposition. We engage in continual problem-solving with each offender to encourage their individual success.
• Cost Effective: Our programs are funded strictly through defendant fees and are provided at NO COST to the referring agency.
• Easy to Use: AJA can update the agencies case-tracking system with an electronic, one-way transfer. This capability streamlines the case status update process, avoiding the inefficiency of double-entry.
• Accountability: Offenders are given 60-120 days to complete their individualized Program, allowing them to make amends to their victim and/or to society.
• Efficient: AJA assists at any point in the criminal process, with an eye toward efficiency on every front. This alleviates the burden on prosecutors and judges, allowing them greater freedom and flexibility in their schedules and court rooms.
• Sensible Sentencing Option: Where appropriate, Programs are available as a sentencing option, however the earlier the intervention the greater the impact to both the Offender and the system.
• Education: Referring agencies are constantly apprised of any changes or updates to the scope and contents of any Program Materials.
Through APPS, offenders must complete a 50-page workbook via our online application that teaches everything from techniques for behavior control to getting and maintaining a job. It also illustrates crime’s impact on victims, and encourages offenders to set goals through journalling and build their self-esteem via evaluations.
APPS features an intensive, 40 minute video accessible via DVD and our desktop application, that details what happens to an offender after arrest and offers techniques for behavior control.
Charge-specific curriculum supplements and meetings must be completed for various alcohol, drug and sex offenses. The program is multilingual and offered in English, Spanish, Korean, and closed-captioned for the hearing impaired.
In return for the promise of non-filing of criminal charges, the defendant must:
• Enroll in the program by completing a pre-test, and signing both an enrollment contract and a time waiver
• Pay program fees
• Successfully complete program materials
• Pay any required restitution (or complete other special conditions as required)
• If the defendant is charged with a new offense within a year, or fails to complete the program successfully, the filing of the original criminal charge will take place.
• APPS personnel provide services including initiation/tracking of bail refunds and providing defendants with “no charges filed” letters from LAPD and/or Los Angeles City Attorney offices for employment and immigration purposes.
• Our offices also handle referrals to and tracking of community service programs, collecting restitution for victims of crime, Gun and Safety Courses, Anger Management classes, Therapy/Counseling, Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and Sexual Compulsives Anonymous.
• We also have the unique ability to customize our Program to fit the needs of each individual case that is referred.
Contact American Justice Associates
Fellow founders and Attorneys, Deborah McKinley and Neil Anderson, are committed to providing professional solutions for over-burdened systems and an often disillusioned public. After seeing the need for a turnkey solution to overcrowded courts and jails, American Justice Associates was created as a win-win solution for all involved: the offender, the prosecutor's office, the court, and society at large. For over two decades, AJA has provided proven, cost-effective solutions addressing the ever-present problem of quality-of-life crime. Deborah B. McKinley, Attorney at LawState of California Bar #195257 | State Bar of Georgia #506773McKinley founded American Justice Associates in 1994 and currently handles all administrative functions of the company, oversees Program Implementation in new jurisdictions and serves as President of American Justice Associates. Neil G. Anderson, Attorney at Law |State of California Bar #55410Anderson served 21 years as a prosecutor, making him empathetic to prosecutors and their ongoing needs and daily concerns. Prior to his tenure as a Supervising Deputy District Attorney in Sacramento, Anderson also served as a police officer in Garden Grove and in Redlands for approximately eight years.
354 S. Spring St., Ste. 212
Los Angeles, CA 90013
ph – 213 628 9930
fax – 213 628 9910
dmckinley@ajacorp.com