BISMARCK, ND (KXNET)- South Central Judicial District Court Judge Daniel Borgen has ruled the child neglect case against Cassandra Black Elk will proceed, despite the defense’s request to dismiss the case.

While Judge Borgen ruled in a court order filed Tuesday that the case could proceed, he also ordered the Burleigh County State’s Attorney’s Office must provide more information regarding the alleged child neglect.

Black Elk’s infant daughter died in February 2022. According to court records, Black Elk admitted to drinking the night before and awakening to find her daughter unresponsive the morning of February 19, 2022.

Guilty or wrongly accused? The case of a mother charged with child neglect

In a court filing, Burleigh County State’s Attorney Julie Lawyer alleged that Black Elk “failed to provide proper parental care or control for S.B. by consuming alcohol to a level that impaired her ability to care for S.B., an infant.”

However, Black Elk’s attorneys maintain prosecutors have failed to provide an explanation as to what care Black Elk failed to provide. A report of death obtained by KX News shows that Black Elk’s daughter’s cause of death is unexplained sudden death and her manner of death is undetermined.

Now, the order signed by Borgen stipulates that “the State is hereby ORDERED (emphasis in original) to submit a Bill of Particulars as to how the Defendant’s alleged intoxication impaired her ability to care for S.B. or what care she failed to provide to S.B. because of her intoxication.”

“I don’t think there’s any evidence to corroborate any sort of thing,” said Dane DeKrey, attorney for Black Elk, in a telephone conversation with KX News. “The State has had opportunities to bring forth this information,” DeKrey said. “I think the reason they haven’t identified anything is because they don’t have anything.”

The State has 14 days to file the Bill of Particulars with the additional information. KX News reached out to Burleigh County Assistant State’s Attorney Gabrielle Goter, who is prosecuting the case.

Goter declined to comment on the specifics of the case since it is an active prosecution. However, she noted that she is preparing the Bill of Particulars requested by Borgen.