Suspended Bayfield County District Attorney H. Craig Haukaas Tuesday stood mute at his arraignment to charges of felony misconduct in office and bail jumping as party to a crime in Bayfield County Circuit Court.

The charges grow out of a special prosecutor's John Doe investigation last year into allegations that Haukaas acted beyond his authority in his official capacity as district attorney to advise a criminal defendant, Joseph Soulier, to flee the state before a scheduled appearance in Bayfield County Circuit Court.

Soulier had been facing misdemeanor charges of battery, disorderly conduct and criminal damage to property at the time of the alleged misconduct. According to statements attributed to Soulier, under the alleged deal, Haukaas would have quashed all outstanding warrants against him and dismissed pending charges if Soulier had remained out of the state for 36 months.

Soulier was later arrested in Wisconsin and allegedly disclosed the arrangement to his defense attorney, Fred Bourg, who asked for the John Doe hearing that led to the charges filed against Haukaas.

The arraignment, conducted by Douglas County Circuit Court Judge George Glonek, took place in a small family court hearing room as another court case went on in the courthouse's main courtroom.

At the hearing, Glonek denied a motion by Haukaas' attorney, Gene Linehan, of Wausau to dismiss the bail jumping charge, which Linehan claimed was filed after the expiration of the three-year statute of limitations.

However, Glonek found that the offense was committed not when the complaint was filed against Soulier on November 4, 2003, but when he failed to show up for court on December 9, 2003, within the statutory limit. Linehan then filed a demand for a speedy trial and discovery of evidence held by the prosecution.

Glonek entered a plea of not guilty when Haukaas stood mute, and scheduled a status and pretrial conference for February 7 at 4 p.m. in Douglas County Circuit Court. Trial dates of April 12 and 13 were set in the event the case is not resolved before then.