Wyandotte County DA Mark Dupree explains charging standards, discovery timeline and new case software in Bonner Springs

Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree visited the Bonner Springs City Council on Feb. 23 to walk the council through how criminal cases move from investigation to charge and to answer questions about local case volumes, discovery and recent procedural changes.

Dupree opened by summarizing the office's statutory placement (citing KSA 22A101) and the legal standards that govern charging decisions. "To arrest is significantly lower than that of beyond a reasonable doubt," Dupree said, adding that prosecutors must believe the evidence is strong enough to secure a conviction before filing charges.

Dupree described the typical sequence: law enforcement investigation, submission of an affidavit and related materials to the DA's office, a prosecutor's review and then a judge's sign-off on warrants or charges. He cautioned that if the prosecutor cannot find the evidence needed to meet the high standard for a jury conviction, the office may decline to file charges until more evidence is collected.

On discovery and case management, Dupree told the council his office recently went live with a new software platform, CARPEL, to centralize case files and historical records. "We went live in June," he said. The migration is ongoing and he said staff are still validating older records while moving decades of material into the new system.

Dupree said Bonner Springs has sent roughly 400 cases to his office over the last two years but he could not yet provide a detailed breakdown of dispositions because CARPEL is still synchronizing historical files. "I can guesstimate, but I don't like guessing," he said when council members asked for comparative data.

Several council members raised concerns that delays in turning over evidence to the DA's office have led judges to threaten or order dismissals. Dupree acknowledged the problem and described a procedural adjustment: although charges may be filed to preserve time, the office now expects the remaining discovery to arrive within 7 to 14 days so the court record shows good-faith compliance. "We start the charge," he said, "but the goal is now between 7 to 14 days. Do whatever you gotta do, but get the rest of that information to us."

Council members also pressed on staffing and whether resource limits affect charging decisions. Dupree said his office is currently staffed to handle its caseload and that declinations generally reflect evidentiary gaps rather than simple resource scarcity. He gave an example of a case referred to services rather than formal felony charges to reflect a prosecutorial judgment about proportionality and resource use.

Council members requested a follow-up with more granular data once CARPEL's migration is complete; Dupree invited them to meet in his office and agreed to return with more detailed statistics in three to six months. He also said his office would work with local prosecutors and the municipal court to clarify which misdemeanor domestic-violence cases should be handled at the city level and which should remain with district court.

Why it matters: The DA's procedural choices determine whether cases proceed to trial, are pled out or are dismissed for missing discovery. Bonner Springs officials said they want clearer local reporting to understand outcomes for residents; Dupree said new software and continued collaboration should make that possible.

The council thanked Dupree for the presentation and closed the exchange by inviting him back when the office can report validated case data.