Santos P. Amadeo - Lawyer and Expert

Lawyer and Expert

In 1937, a branch of the American Civil Liberties Union had been established in Puerto Rico following the United States investigation of the Ponce massacre. For many years, Amadeo Semidey was the counsel for the ACLU and its leader in Puerto Rico.

In 1939, Amadeo Semidey, besides teaching in the UPR, established a private law practice. He became active in defending political prisoners.

Amadeo Semidey served as legal counselor to the Economic War Board in Puerto Rico during World War II; to various committees in the US Senate; to the delegation of the Partido Estadista Republicano (Republican Statehood Party), and to the Puerto Rican Status commission.

After the government passed the Ley de la Mordaza (Gag Law) or Law 53 in 1948, Amadeo Semidey challenged the resulting crackdown on the Nationalist Party and other dissidents. He used the hábeas corpus action, in order to expedite the release of Puerto Rican political prisoners, and to question the constitutionality of the Gag Law. He brought a habeas corpus action before the U.S. Supreme Court, on behalf of Enrique Ayoroa Abreu, who had been arrested following the Ponce massacre. Amadeo Semidey and other attorneys also defended 15 members of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party who were charged with violating the law of La Mordaza.