Melvin L. Wulf (1927– ) is a New York–based constitutional lawyer, whose special field of practice is intellectual property, particularly libel, copyright, and privacy. He also has extensive experience in other First Amendment areas.
Wulf authored amicus briefs on First Amendment issues
Born in Brooklyn in 1927, Wulf obtained both his undergraduate and law degrees from Columbia University. From 1962 to 1977, he served as legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union. In that capacity, he authored scores of amicus briefs in First Amendment cases before the Supreme Court.
Wulf argued First Amendment cases before the Court
Wulf has also argued several cases before the Supreme Court, including:
- Healy v. James (1972), which involved the right of a politically active student group to recognition by the university;
- Bigelow v. Virginia (1975), a case important to the development of the commercial speech doctrine; and
- Haig v. Agee (1981), a case in which the Court rejected a former Central Intelligence Agency employee’s First and Fifth Amendment challenges to the revocation of his passport, in part for critical comments about the government.
Wulf currently serves as counsel to the New York–based law firm of Beldock, Levine, and Hoffman.
David L. Hudson, Jr. is a law professor at Belmont who publishes widely on First Amendment topics. He is the author of a 12-lecture audio course on the First Amendment entitled Freedom of Speech: Understanding the First Amendment (Now You Know Media, 2018). He also is the author of many First Amendment books, including The First Amendment: Freedom of Speech (Thomson Reuters, 2012) and Freedom of Speech: Documents Decoded (ABC-CLIO, 2017). This article was originally published in 2009.