Morton (a pseudonym) v The King

The South Australian Court of Appeal, constituted by Kourakis CJ, S Doyle and David JJ, considered an appeal by the appellant against his conviction and sentence for offences including maintaining a sexual relationship with a child and persistent sexual abuse of a child. The appeal concerned the proper application of the "ceiling principle" in sentencing following a retrial.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether a sentencing judge, on a retrial after a successful appeal against a previous conviction, must be satisfied that the original sentence was manifestly inadequate before imposing a longer term of imprisonment. The Court also considered the nature and status of the "ceiling principle" in the context of a fresh sentencing discretion.

The Court reasoned that a sentence formerly imposed but subsequently quashed is a relevant consideration in the fresh exercise of sentencing discretion but does not constrain it. Conditioning the proper exercise of discretion on a threshold of manifest inadequacy for appellate review is inconsistent with the statutory conferral of sentencing power. The Court affirmed that while the "ceiling principle" dictates that an offender should not be worse off as a result of a successful appeal, it does not prevent a higher sentence on retrial if there are good reasons, such as the original sentence being manifestly inadequate or materially different facts emerging. The Court concluded that the sentencing judge had not erred in principle by imposing a longer term of imprisonment than that previously imposed.

Permission to appeal against sentence was granted, but the appeal itself was dismissed. The appeal against conviction was also dismissed.