Gravamen:
- The substance, or essence, of a complaint.
- The part of a criminal accusation that weighs most heavily against the accused. [Legal Dictionary]
Noted in “The Latest (Ridiculous) Controversy At Yale Law School,” David Lat, Original Jurisdiction:
Let’s do a close reading of the “trap house” email—starting with the term “trap house,” which seems to be the gravamen of the alleged offense. Taking this term by itself, most folks these days would associate it with the popular podcast Chapo Trap House—a show hosted by three white men, whose name hasn’t been the subject of any uproar, at least as far as I know.
It’s an interesting article. It does strike me, though, that articles like these constitute a magnifying lens on the actions of officials of any sort.
And while I’m glad I’m not an official of any sort, I think this is a good thing, so long as the lens is honest.
