Paul Sambursky, who pled guilty to five rapes three years ago, was let out of state prison last week to appear Wednesday back in a Grand Forks courtroom to argue that he deserves a new trial because his then-attorney misled him.
Serving a 30-year prison sentence for sexual assaults on five Grand Forks women in 2001-2002, Sambursky, 33, last year won a North Dakota Supreme Court decision that he deserves at least a hearing on whether he should get a new trial.
Sambursky, a UND criminal justice major when he was arrested, said he only accepted a plea agreement because his attorney at the time, Lee Finstad, led him to believe he would have to serve 10 years or less for the five rapes.
In the hearing Wednesday before state District Judge Karen Braaten, who will determine whether Sambursky should have a new trial, Sambursky said Finstad gave him incomplete advice.
Finstad did not adequately explain to him that he would be deemed a violent offender and be required to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence behind bars under state guidelines, Sambursky said.
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Sambursky said Finstad told him he would not be considered a violent offender.
In late 2003, Sambursky pleaded guilty to five felony charges of gross sexual imposition, plus a misdemeanor disorderly conduct that authorities said was an aborted attempt at a sixth sexual assault. As part of the plea agreement, he also admitted to a seventh sexual assault that had gone unsolved and was not prosecuted for it.
Grand Forks County prosecutors said it was the biggest sexual assault case in memory in the county.
In January 2004, state District Judge Debbie Kleven, after first rejecting a plea agreement to sentence Sambursky to 21 years as too lenient, sentenced him to 30 years in prison 80 years with 50 suspended. Sambursky said Wednesday it wasn't until his orientation at the state penitentiary in Bismarck that he first learned he was considered a violent offender and would have to serve at least 25 years.
He appealed the sentence to the state Supreme Court, which last year ruled he deserved a hearing in district court on the issue.
Finstad, who brought his own attorney Wednesday to court, testified that he never discussed the "85 percent rule," with his client and wasn't even aware of the rule himself until after Sambursky was sentenced.
Finstad said he was focused on trying to arrange for his client to serve as few years as possible as he drafted a plea agreement.
Sambursky said he had hoped to be sentenced to three to five years, and expected to serve no more than eight to 10 years under the plea agreement.
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"Had I thought for a minute I had to serve 85 percent of my time, I would never have entered into a plea agreement," he said on the stand Wednesday. "I had a family to go home to, and I wanted to get home to them."
Sambursky, who wore a jail-issued orange jump suit and remained with hands and feet shackled to his waist for the three-hour hearing Wednesday, said he would have "felt comfortable" going to trial rather than accept a plea agreement that would require a much longer sentence than he hoped to serve.
He was transported last week from the state prison to the new Grand Forks County jail to prepare for Wednesday's hearing, which will continue this morning with more testimony from Finstad.
Grand Forks attorney Ralph Carter is representing Finstad.
David Jones, assistant state's attorney for Grand Forks County, is arguing for the prosecution that Sambursky should serve his sentence. Jones questioned Sambursky on why Sambursky didn't file a complaint earlier. He also questioned Sambursky's understanding of sentencing guidelines.
