Hawaii’s Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE) Program: Looking through a Therapeutic Jurisprudence Lens

Abstract

This article examines Hawaii’s Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE) program through the lens of therapeutic jurisprudence (TJ). The article presents an overview of TJ and solution-focused courts, followed by an overview of HOPE, including findings from four evaluations. It then provides a detailed description of recent observations of HOPE in practice, with particular focus on the warning hearing, sanctions for non-compliance, early termination for good behaviour, and the intersections between TJ, HOPE and procedural justice. The article concludes by arguing that there are a number of misunderstandings about HOPE and that it is best understood when viewed through a TJ lens.

Keywords: Hawaii’s Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE), Alm, HOPE Probation, therapeutic jurisprudence, solution-focused court