Rankine v Attorney-General (SA)

The applicant, Rankine, appealed to the Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia against a decision of a single judge. The dispute concerned the sentencing of Rankine, who had been declared a serious or violent offender.

The Full Court was required to determine whether the primary judge had erred in their sentencing decision, specifically in relation to the consideration of Rankine's positive response to counselling and his success under an Intensive Supervision Order (ISO). The appeal also raised the issue of whether the primary judge had failed to consider Rankine's good behaviour and any specific hardships identified by the applicant.

The Court found that the primary judge had indeed given careful consideration to the matters of Rankine's response to counselling and his success under the ISO. The Court concluded that the complaint regarding the failure to consider good behaviour was not reasonably arguable. Furthermore, the Court noted that Rankine had not identified any specific hardships that were presented to the primary judge and subsequently overlooked.

Accordingly, the Full Court granted Rankine an extension of time to file his Notice of Appeal but ultimately dismissed the appeal.