Offical Court of Law v 15 Jon Snow

[Nyrhex]

1. Treason

The Defendant is charged with three counts of treason:-

1.1 The Defendant permitted wildlings to enter South of the Wall, in violation of his duties to the Realm;

Not Guilty - The Wall was built to defend against the Others. The gifts were given by the Kingdom of Westeros to support the Night's Watch. The King of Westeros asked for permission to settle the Wildlings south of the Wall, in the lightly populated Gift, in order to better protect the kingdoms of men against the Others. The traditional role of defending against Wildlings was done to protect Westeros from raids and the likes. If the King of Westeros agrees to the re-settlement, then the Lord Commander is within his rights to settle a new people in his own lands.

1.2 The Defendant attempted to lead an army of wildlings against Lord Roose Bolton, lawfully appointed Warden of the North, in order to avenge the supposed death of Lord Stannis Baratheon, and to slay his natural son, Lord Ramsay Bolton;

Guilty - While a problematic wording, the essence of the charge stands. Stannis Baratheon is the rightful king of Westeros, and as such Ramsay Snow is baseborn. The defendant, Jon Snow, did in fact attempt to break the ancient rules of Westeros against inteferance in the affairs of the realm. However, due to the extenuating circumstances(*), the punishment is mitigated from death by sword, to:

Stripped of the title of Lord Commander, and placed in his former position as personal steward and squire of the Lord Commander, with a promotion ban for 10 years.

(*) - The defendant had been ordered to hand over persons under his protection, with the very real possiblity (to the defendants best knowledge) that they would be harmed. A first strike to either remove the threat or to buy time is acceptable in order to defend persons who have been aiding the Wall and the Night's Watch, which are currently at an all time low manpower wise, and facing the largest enemy invasion in 8,000 years.

1.3 The Defendant assisted Lord Stannis Baratheon to wage war against Lord Roose Bolton, by providing him with military advice, and his army with accommodation and supplies.

Guilty - However, due to the extenuating circumstances(*), the punishment is mitigated from death by sword, to:

Stripped of the title of Lord Commander, and placed in his former position as personal steward and squire of the Lord Commander, with a promotion ban for 10 years.

(*) While the fact that King Stannis Baratheon being truly the rightful king of Westeros is irrelevant, the important factor is that he is the only outside support the Night's Watch currently has against the threat of the Others' Invasion.

2. Oathbreaking

The Defendant is charged with three counts of Oathbreaking:-

2.1 The Defendant breached his pledge of neutrality, by assisting Lord Stannis as set out in charge 1.2, and by attempting to march on Winterfell, as set out in charge 1.3;

Repetition - Dismissed.

2.2 The Defendant breached his oath of chastity by committing acts of fornication with the wildling woman, Ygritte.

Not Guilty - While the Night's Watch does in fact have in place a rule of chastity, since it is generally ignored, it is unfair to judge a person while others who have commited the same act are not.

2.3 The Defendant breached his pledge of neutrality by attempting to kidnap Jeyne Poole (alias “Arya Stark”) the wife of Lord Ramsay Bolton;

Guilty - The defentant had participated, and used his authority over another member of the Night's Watch (Eddison Tollett) to join him in his illegal action.

However, due to the extenuating circumstances(*), the punishment is mitigated from death by sword, to:

Stripped of the title of Lord Commander, and placed in his former position as personal steward and squire of the Lord Commander, with a promotion ban for 10 years.

(*) The defendant was attempting to rescue his close relative from a marriage that was obviously against her will, and highly likely to be an abusive one.

3. Mutiny

The Defendant is charged with three counts of Mutiny:-

3.1 The Defendant disobeyed an order to execute the wildling woman, Ygritte, given by his superior officer, Qhorin Halfhand;

Not Guilty - “And not like to be a threat,” Qhorin agreed. “If I had needed her dead, I would have left her with Ebben, or done the thing myself.”

“Then why did you command it of me?”

“I did not command it. I told you to do what needed to be done, and left you to decide what that would be.”

3.2 The Defendant attempted to desert his post, by riding South to join Robb Stark;

Not Guilty - An attmept to desert and changing one's mind is acceptable under those circumstances. In the end, he was convinced by his fellow brothers of the Night's Watch to return. No harm done, and the Lord Commander took him into his office for a talk of the matter and make sure that he understood what he was trying to do, and why it was wrong.

3.3 The Defendant attempted to strike his superior officer, Ser Alliser Thorne, upon hearing of the arrest of his natural father, Lord Eddard Stark;

Guilty - The targeted victim, a high ranking officer of the Night's Watch, was stating a fact, which, to anyone's knowledge, was correct. This fact was insulting to the defendant's sense of honour, and so he attmepted to murder his superior officer in a flash of anger. - Death by sword.

3.4 The Defendant attempted to strangle his superior officer, Ser Allister Thorne.

Guilty - The attack happened upon facing the verdict of a fresh recruit, who not only had no time to swear his oath, but had also taken upon himself the command of the Watch untill the castellan's return, without authorisation. This same recruit had unlawfily sentanced the defendant to death by hanging, after a mock trial, with a Wildling witness of questionable reliability, the opinion of an intoxicated septon of the castle, and the opinion of a biased officer of the Night's Watch, who has been already the victim of the defendant's attempted murder in the previouse book.

However, after the defentant was sentance to death, he unleashed his fury not on the person who judged him, but on the selfsame officer whom he had already attacked once. This indicates that the attack was done out of a personal desire to harm that specific target, with no connection to his part in the illegal trial. - Death by sword.

4. Murder

The Defendant slew Lord Janos Slynt without trial.

Guilty - The defendant had a very problematic professional relationship with the victim. The victim had played a key role in the death of the defendant's father. The victim had also judged the defendant illegally to death, only to be faced with the illegality of his actions and the threat of contacting other officers of the Night's Watch. At this point the victim had prefered to task the defendant to perform an action that will surely end with his death, and with questionable reasoning as to the necessity of that order. Later on, when the defendant was elected Lord Commander, he had recurring thoughts of killing the victim. The night before the murder, the defendant had tasked the victim with a mission, with bare still in hands - an obviouse threat - and in a manner which he knew (both from common sense, and from his personal experiance) would provoke the victim's ego into refusing, thus giving the defendant an excuse to kill him. The repeating thoughts of killing the victim, the fact that the defendant had judged the order to command a far-away castle impracticale in the first place right before ordering the execution, and the fact that the defendant had arrived with and armed escort to the defendant, and provoked him again in a position that would further hurt his ego, all point to a pre-meditated murder, derived from a personal feud between the two. To further stress the case, the defendant himself was several times before in a position where he should have faced the death penalty, and the superior officers had refused to sentance him to death. The defendant had clearly allowed his judgement be affected by his pesronal bias against the victim, and so the verdict is:

Death by Sword.

[jenerationx]

(Interjection from the peanut gallery: I love this thread. It really illustrates how many of the rules that the Night's Watch obeys are actually part of the spirit of their vows rather than letter. It's totally true that within the vow itself, there's actually nothing that expressly prohibits fornication, and no wording about keeping wildlings north of the Wall or staying neutral. Those seem to be "laws" that were interpreted by someone at some point, and were taken thenceforth as being literal parts of the vow.)

[daario's man]

Treason.

1.1. Not guilty. The defendant was acting with the interests of the Realm at heart, protecting it from a greater risk.

1.2. Not guilty. The defendant was acting in self defence.

1.3. Guilty. But it must be taken into account that Stannis Baratheon had assisted the Nights Watch greatly, and that the assistance returned was given under duress.

Oathbreaking.

2.1. Same as 1.2 and 1.3.

2.2. Not guilty. The defendant was undercover at the time and had to act the part of a wildling to complete his mission.

2.3. Not guilty. The defendant was aware of the plot but did not devise or enact it.

Mutiny.

3.1. Guilty.

3.2. Guilty. It must be taken into consideration that the defendant came back of his own free will and has shown complete loyalty to the Nights Watch ever since.

3.3. Guilty. Alliser Thorne's provocation of the defendant must be taken into consideration.

Murder.

1.1. Not guilty. Janos Slynt repeatedly disobeyed an order insulting the defendant (his Lord Commander) in front of the men, as the highest authority within the Nights Watch and being in full possession of the facts there was no need for a trial.

As there are mitigating circumstances in all cases where the defendant is found guilty bar 3.1, in which his commanding officer chose to take no action it is the view of this court that a death sentence is too harsh and as his duties as Lord Commander have carried out to the best of his abilities it would be ridiculous to strip him of his title. The defendant is already serving on the Wall and this may be seen as community service, this only leaves a monetary fine which would no doubt come out of the Nights Watch's own finances only to presumably be paid back to the Nights Watch. The court has then only one course of action to take and that is to leave him in place to serve the realm for the rest of his natural life and any life he may have after that and that under no circumstances must he ever be allowed to be called King, weather that be of the entire Realm or just the North.

[Chaircat Meow]

1.1 Charge dismissed. Wilding resettlement was proceeding according to the wishes of the king, Stannis I, and was justified in order to guard the realms of men, which is the duty of the NW.

1.2 Guilty. Taking arms against the king’s own Warden of the North is high treason.

Death by the Sword.

1.3 Not Guilty. The LC had no choice but to provide Stannis accommodation and supplies and was perfectly correct to do so. He ought not to have given him military advice. This is not enough to constitute treason.

2.1 Guilty. On account of marching on WF as set out in charge 1.2. The defendant was acting, by his own admission, for reasons that were nothing to do with his duty, or his command. He is in violation of the vow to ‘take no part,’ and, ‘to live and die at my post.’

Death by Hanging

on account of the gravity of desertion being undertaken by the LC himself (failing that the senior officers can take any means they deem fit to prevent his illegal assault upon the realm).

2.2 Guilty. Acts of fornication are not usually punished, so it would be unfair to do so in this instance.

2.3 Guilty. The defendant used spear wives left under his authority, by king Stannis I, and his own man to facilitate the plan, which was never said to be being undertaken on behalf of king Stannis.

Stripped of the title of Lord Commander and demoted to a steward.

3.1 Charge dismissed. The defendant was not actually ordered to do this.

3.2 Guilty. The defendant was given a second chance by the then Lord Commander.

3.3 Guilty. Attempted murder.

A period of imprisonment of a duration longer than one evening without a break for fighting wights.

4. Not guilty. The execution was for disobeying a direct order.

Death by Hanging.

[Winds of Winter blow cold]

Damn! I thought this one would be easy! Some people are blood thirsty.

[Arthur Dayne's Honor]

They just plain don't like Jon. The only charge that has any weight behind it is him attacking Thorne but that was already felt with. He wasn't breaking any of his vows.

“ Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all nights to come. ”

He doesn't take Ygritte for his wife or father any children with her so sleeping with her wasn't breaking his oath.

[Nyrhex]

They just plain don't like Jon. The only charge that has any weight behind it is him attacking Thorne but that was already felt with. He wasn't breaking any of his vows.

You do realise that the exact opposite can be said of people who plain like Jon and so, while judgeing his action of killing a man for refusing an order legitimate, absolve Jon of actions such as twice attempted murder of an officer, (he was even less provoked then Slynt was the first time), and other acts that are worse than Slynt's?

[Ser Not Appearing]

Do not some of these charges assume authority on the part of those whose authority is in question? Trial delayed until such time as appropriate jurisdiction can be adequately and fully proven.

... at which time numerous charges will be dismissed and the few with merit will be glossed over according to the preference of an appreciative jury.

[Earth 1 Andrew]

1.1 Not Guilty

1.2 Not Guilty

1.3 Dismissed

2.1 Not Guilty

2.2 Guilty

2.3 Dismissed

3.1 Dismissed

3.2 Not Guilty

3.3 Not Guilty

4.1 Not Guilty

ETA: Recommended Charge - Nothing

[jenerationx]

Do not some of these charges assume authority on the part of those whose authority is in question? Trial delayed until such time as appropriate jurisdiction can be adequately and fully proven.

... at which time numerous charges will be dismissed and the few with merit will be glossed over according to the preference of an appreciative jury.

It does seem a bit unfair to judge the character for things that occurred under his rule as LC, with the implication that as LC he is responsible for everything that happens in the NW, while at the same time also judging him for the things that occurred when he was not LC and obeying orders from his superior officers.

[Earth 1 Andrew]

Damn! I thought this one would be easy! Some people are blood thirsty.

I know right! Seriously! Like, if you REALLY don't like him send him into exile, I don't understand this "death by hanging" and "death by sword" business.

[Ser Not Appearing]

It does seem a bit unfair to judge the character for things that occurred under his rule as LC, with the implication that as LC he is responsible for everything that happens in the NW, while at the same time also judging him for the things that occurred when he was not LC and obeying orders from his superior officers.

Not to mention treason for assisting a contender (rightful) for the crown.

[C0bR]

1.1 Not Guilty - The Defendant did not violate any of his duties to the Realm, these is now law banning people from coming south of the Wall.

1.2 Not Guilty - The Defendant had a right to feel threatened (and through him the very whole institution of Night's Watch) by the actions of said Ramsay Snow. Additionaly, Lord Roose Bolton's appointment as The Warden of the North is not lawfull as The North is a sovereign kingdom with its ruler being appointed by King Robb Stark in his will. The Defendant's only intent was to ensure the safety of the institution of Night's Watch and to secure the crucial support of the northern lords, whose disunity, caused by an unlawful sacking of Winterfell by Lord Bolton and his bastard son, threatens to open the Realm to the attack of the enemy from beyond the Wall.

1.3 Dismissed - King Stannis Baratheon was not provided by accomodation or any supplies while waging war. Alliance advice is not a crime in the eyes of any gods.

2.1 Dismissed - The defense explained in points 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3.

2.2 Dismissed - His oath forbades The Defendant from having children, not from the act of fornication.

2.3 Dismissed - No attempt of this was ever even commenced by The Defendant.

3.1 Not Guilty - Qhorin Halfhand, the superior officer of The Defendant, did not give a clear order. The defense is supported by the superior officer Qhorin Halfhand himself and he is willing to testify.

3.2 Not Guilty - His attempt was not fulfiled. The Defendant was not labeled as a traitor by neither his superior officers, nor by executors of justice of the Realm.

3.3 Guilty - Verdict: A month of prison sentence.

4.1 Not Guilty - Janos Slynt repeatedly refused to obey the clean orders of his superior commander, marking himself as a traitor to the Night's Watch in the eyes of gods and men. The Defendant chose the right course of action, for the punishment for the treason is death.

[jenerationx]

3.1 Not Guilty - Qhorin Halfhand, the superior officer of The Defendant, did not give a clear order. The defense is supported by the superior officer Qhorin Halfhand himself and he is willing to testify.

Wait, what? He's coming back from the dead to testify? Dude. That is someone who feels strongly about justice.

[The Dragon & The Wolf]

1.1 Not guilty. After numerous attempts to gain help from the realm and consistently being ignored at all turns, as the Lord Commander, it is within his rights to see that the NW is amply aided in their goals to properly man the wall, the other castles & and protect the realm from that which lies beyond the wall. Clearly if the wildings are willing to side w/ their main rivals to see to a common goal then something should be said about such.

1.2 Not guilty. Lord Ramsay threatened the life of the LC and that of the Watch. Lord Ramsay along w/ his father are both traitors and rebels to the rightful King Stannis Baratheon and have no proper claim to dominion of the North or Winterfell.

1.3 Not guilty. Stannis was the only person in the entire realm to aide the Watch in the battle against the army of wildlings and if he didn't it is highly possible that the Watch would have fallen and the North and subsequently the realm would have been overrun with invaders.

2.1 Not guilty. Stannis is the rightful king, even though the Watch is to stay neutral, they owed him a significant debt.

2.2 Not guilty. The defendant was using any means to gain the trust of the wildlings. He was obeying the dying commands of a legendary superior officer. There are plenty of Black Brothers whom discreetly lie w/ woman yet father no children.

2.3 Not guilty. The defendant was under the impression that said girl was his younger sister "Arya Stark" who had been forcibly married and subsequently torched at the hands of Ramsay, at his sadistic pleasure and all in order to lay claim to Winterfell. Even so the true Arya Stark in not the next in line of succession and as men of the NW it is w/in their power to protect the realms of men.. . that includes this young lady.

3.1 Dismissed. Considering it led to the infiltration of the wildling camp and their plans to attack the Wall and then the realm, im inclined to vote in favor of the defendant.

3.2 Dismissed. Momentary laps of weakness.

3.3 Dismissed. The defendant was provoked regarding something most sensitive, as he had been taunted from his very first day at the Wall from Ser Thorne. A man gets what he deserves.

4. Not guilty. It is the Lord Commander's prerogative to behead those whom he deems unfit, unruly, disrespectful & insubordinate. Also Slynt played a part in the betrayal & death of Lord Eddard Stark, he reveled in it and afterwards was rewarded w/ thus that does not rightfully belong to him or was rightfully in the power to be granted to him from the then pretender on the throne.

My final ruling; all charges against the defendant, Lord Commander Jon Snow, are to be dropped and he is to retain his position. Also a warning to those who would try and oppose the Lord Commander of the NW, the realm is in desperate need of good men like him.

[Treemaster]

All charges should be dismissed due to lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. This Court does not have the legal authority to pass judgment on activities in the Night's Watch, an organization that is independent from the laws of the realm. Because the Court has already denied this motion, I will proceed to address the specific counts, but I have been advised that the Defendant plans to appeal this ruling.

1.1 Dismissed: There is no law against "allowing Wildlings south of the Wall" and so the charge must be dismissed. The actual law provides that the Defendant must act to protect the Realm, and Defendant acted in the Realm's interest because: (1) he averted a bloody and unnecessary conflict that could have resulted in thousands of deaths; (2) Defendant would have further incited conflict with Stannis (ruling not dependent on whether Stannis is the lawful king) which would have further harmed the realm; (3) it is not clear the Night's Watch could have survived either of these conflicts; and (4) if Defendant had been able to prevent the "Wildlings" from going south of the wall, it would have fortified the ranks of the true enemy, The Others. Accordingly, there is no legal basis for this charge, and it should be dismissed.

1.2 Dismissed. "Attempted" treason is not a crime like attempted murder; actual treason must be committed. Defendant did not have the opportunity to commit the Acts referenced below as he was illegally assaulted before he could carry out the purported acts.

1.3 Dismissed. I am not able to rule on this charge without being shown the language of the statute Defendant is alleged to have violated. Lords apparently wage war against each other all the time in Westeros, and it is not clear that providing "aid" to one Lord waging war on another Lord can be a crime. Moreover, even if it could be a crime, in Westeros Society Lords are justified in waging war if circumstances warrant. Roose Bolton committed numerous illegal acts to secure his supposed "Warden of the North" position, and he and his heir were threatening to commit further unlawful acts against both Defendant and the watch. In the absence of any law expressly prohibited Defendants' conduct, he cannot be found guilty of a crime. Defendant's alleged advice is protected free speech and cannot form the basis of a crime.

2. Dismissed: All "oathbreaking" counts should be dismissed because "oathbreaking" is not an independent criminal act. The act of breaking an oath does not violate any law; instead, the conduct must independently violate some other law. For instance, violating an oath not to kill would not be a crime, but murder is a crime. Because oathbreaking is not a crime, these charges cannot stand. The following findings are provided only in the event the Court denies the motion to dismiss these charges.

2.1. Dismissed as duplicative of 1.3; unless the Prosecution can cite to specific language in a specific statute indicating that Defendant's actions, even if true, constitute a "crime," the charge cannot stand.

2.2 Dismissed: This count should be dismissed for the additional reason that Defendant took no oath of chastity. Rather, Defendant swore not to take a wife. No evidence was presented that Defendant ever took anyone for a wife, much less Ygritte.

2.3 Dismissed/ Not Guilty if Charge Not Dismissed. Defendant has not been charged for kidnapping; therefore he cannot be charged for oathbreaking premised on kidnapping. Moreover, the charge fails because there is no evidence that Defendant intended to commit the crime of kidnapping. The undisputed evidence confirmed that Defendant acted for the purpose of protecting an individual he thought was a family member from serious bodily injury and abuse. The uncontradicted testimony of Theon Greyjoy confirmed that Ramsay Bolton regularly tortured and abused women (and men). Even if Ms. Poole's marriage to Mr. Ramsay Bolton was legal in and of itself, no law grants the husband the right to beat and torture his wife. Because Mr. Ramsay Bolton's conduct with respect to Ms. Poole was itself wrongful, Defendant intended to free Ms. Poole from unlawful abuse, and not to kidnap her. As intent is a necessary element of the crime of kidnapping, Defendant's lack of intent is dispositive, and he cannot be found guilty of this charge.

3.1 Not Guilty: No evidence was presented that Defendant disobeyed any orders. Instead, Defendant’s uncontradicted testimony established that Mr. Halfhand intended that Defendant not kill Ygritte. Testimony from other members of the Watch supported Defendant's testimony that Mr. Halfhand repeatedly gave such unclear orders for the purpose of learning more about the characters of the men he led.

3.2: Dismissed: Attempted desertion is not a crime. Further, expert witness "Dolorous Edd" confirmed that it is standard practice in the Night's Watch for new recruits to attempt such "desertion." Because Defendant did not actually desert, and because attempted desertion is not a crime, the charge should be dismissed.

3.3: Dismissed: This act does not constitute mutiny because Defendant did not disobey any direct orders of any superior officer. Defendant has not been charged for assault. If the charge had been assault (which is an act that creates imminent apprehension of bodily harm in another) I would be constrained to find Defendant guilty, but he has not been charged with that crime.

4. Dismissed: Defendant was acting as Lord's Commander of the Watch, and this Court does not have jurisdiction to question the actions of the Watch's lawfully elected leader. If the Defendant's actions here constituted a crime, then every judge who has ever imposed the death penalty is similarly guilty of murder.

Because the majority of the charges against Defendant must be dismissed, and because Defendant is not guilty of any remaining charges, Defendant need not be sentenced. He is free to carry out the remainder of his days trapped in the body of his companion, "Ghost."

(For what it’s worth: I am not a huge fan of Jon Snow, and before going through this exercise expected to find him guilty on at least some counts. But, on examination, the charges just don’t have much legal merit to them, so I was constrained to exonerate Jon of all these charges.)

[Alester Florent]

1.1 - The duty of the Night's Watch is to guard the realms of men, which includes the wildlings. Moreover, the people admitted by Lord Commander Snow were refugees and presented no tangible threat to any other realm.

1.2 - The Watch, and the person of Lord Commander Snow, had been directly threatened with military action by Ramsay Bolton. He was entitled to act to defend the Night's Watch by pre-emptively attacking Winterfell.

1.3 - Accommodation and supplies for Stannis Baratheon were provided initially in gratitude for military assistance against a hostile army and subsequently in order to help to continue to garrison the Wall. Military advice and the supplies taken by Stannis Baratheon to assist an attack on Winterfell are not in themselves sufficient to constitute treason.

- Not guilty on all counts of treason.

2.1 - Lord Commander Snow swore no vow to take no part in the affairs of the realm.

2.2 - Lord Commander Snow did not take her to wife nor father children upon her, and thus was not in violation of his vow.

2.3 - This action was undertaken by individuals not under the command of Lord Commander Snow, albeit with his knowledge. The actions taken by the Defendant broke no vow he had sworn.

- Not guilty on all indicted charges of oathbreaking.

3.1 - The order given by Qhorin Halfhand was sufficiently ambiguous as to allow for multiple interpretations. Halfhand himself later acknowledged that he had not intended or planned for the Defendant to kill the hostage.

3.2 - This is strictly a charge of desertion and not of mutiny, since the Defendant did not attempt to subvert or overthrow authority. He returned to his post without dereliction of duty.

3.3 - Taking into account the defence of provocation and loss of self-control, the acts of the Defendant are nevertheless sufficient to constitute mutiny.

- Not guilty on charges 3.1 and 3.2

- Guilty on charge 3.3

4. Lord Slynt was a mutineer and subject to summary justice, which was within the power of the Defendant to carry out. Not guilty.

For the crime of mutiny, taking into account previous and subsequent good conduct of the Defendant and the context of the crime, including relevant defences, the appropriate punishment would be temporary imprisonment. This judge is pleased to note that the Defendant has already been subjected to punishment for this crime and submits that time served be considered sufficient justice for this crime.

[WinterKing]

Guilty of 1.3 ; 2.1 and 2.3.

Sentenced to community service.

Also I'd like the return the option to The Wall as a sentence, as it is traditional, cannon and logical.

[Winds of Winter blow cold]

Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals (typically members of the military; or the crew of any ship, even if they are civilians) to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among members of the military against their superior officer(s), but can also occasionally refer to any type of rebellion against an authority figure.

During the Age of Discovery, mutiny particularly meant open rebellion against a ship's captain. This occurred, for example, during Magellan's famous journeys around the world, resulting in the killing of one mutineer, the execution of another and themarooning of others, and on Henry Hudson's Discovery, resulting in Hudson and others being set adrift in a boat...

• 
  
  

Assault of a superior officer does not constitute mutiny.

[SeanF]

Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals (typically members of the military; or the crew of any ship, even if they are civilians) to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among members of the military against their superior officer(s), but can also occasionally refer to any type of rebellion against an authority figure.

During the Age of Discovery, mutiny particularly meant open rebellion against a ship's captain. This occurred, for example, during Magellan's famous journeys around the world, resulting in the killing of one mutineer, the

execution of another and themarooning of others, and on Henry Hudson's Discovery, resulting in Hudson and others being set adrift in a boat...

• 
  
  

Assault of a superior officer does not constitute mutiny.

English and US Law requires there to be a conspiracy between two or more people for the offence to be committed. But, that's not universal.

Refusal to obey orders, or rebellion against lawful authority, do fall within the dictionary definition of mutiny.