Wei Li denied sentence appeal

An Adelaide law student convicted of bashing and strangling his abusive mother has been denied permission to appeal his sentence.

Wei Li, 23, was jailed for nine years after being found guilty by a Supreme Court jury of the manslaughter of 41-year-old Emma Tien at the family's Burnside home in 2011.

Li's barrister, Kevin Borick QC, has argued it was not possible for the sentencing judge to make findings beyond reasonable doubt because it was not clear what had led the jury to reach its verdict.

Justice Martin Hinton on Monday denied the application, saying the sentencing judge had a duty to reach conclusions on the evidence presented at trial.