[2] Van Alstyne received his Bachelor of Arts in philosophy magna cum laude from the University of Southern California.
[4] In 1982, Van Alstyne came out against a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow for voluntary school prayer, saying it would "install the first seeds of theocracy into our government institutions.
"[2] In 1987, Van Alstyne was selected in a poll by the New York Law Journal of federal judges, attorneys, and academics, as one of three academics among "the ten most qualified" persons in the country for appointment to the supreme court, a distinction repeated in a similar poll by The American Lawyer, in 1991.
[1] Van Alstyne's body of work included many books, law journal articles, and congressional committee testimony.
[6] His testimony on the potential impeachment of President Bill Clinton during the impeachment inquiry was quoted with approval by the New York Times opinion page, "This point [to strike a balance] was underscored by one of the Republican witnesses, Prof. William Van Alstyne of Duke University Law School.
Mindful of the likelihood that impeachment would fail, he urged lawmakers to struggle to find a suitable means to express your sense of disappointment.