In the current presidential investigations, many Clinton supporters and a few Constitutionalists have objected to the actions of the Whitewater Special Investigations Committee under Kenneth Starr. The independent committee was formed to make sure the presidential office gets proper scrutiny. President Clinton appointed Attorney General Janet Reno, and so it would be difficult for her to hold the president accountable.

The committee is about 4 years old, and before December 1997 had no obvious evidence detrimental to the president. Whitewater was the supposed extent of its inquiry. When new evidence surfaced in a completely different area - alleged sexual escapades with Paula Jones and Monica Lewinsky -the Starr Commission followed the scent of wrongdoing down that tricky path.

Did the commission have the jurisdiction to investigate the president on any other issue?

That is the question!

My dear reader, do not look for an answer from this column. It is a question intended for the FBI, Janet Reno, the Supreme Court and for Constitutional experts.

Some of the questions to be raised:

1. Is the committee's jurisdiction narrow or broad (no pun intended)?

2. Should the president be the object of an ongoing investigation with no limits? (Even ordinary citizens are not subjected to such inquiries.)

3. Whose jurisdiction does this new matter fall into?

I am reminded of an incident involving jurisdiction on a soccer field that happened about 15 years ago.

It was a Labor Day Soccer Tournament at John Burns Park in Massapequa. The soccer game was halfway through the second half. It was a hard-fought, intensively competitive game between 15-year-olds. Both teams were marking (covering their opponents) very closely.

The referee, in his black shorts and white trim, was a short, no-nonsense guy. He brooked no backtalk and had handed out about three yellow cards for minor signs of disagreement with his calls. Napoleonic and Martinet-like are adequate descriptions of his character.

Following a hard, clean tackle, one player did not get up. It was obvious that his leg was broken. Time was called, and an ambulance appeared rather quickly to whisk the fallen boy to a nearby hospital.

On the playing field, along with the ambulance, was a Nassau County policeman in his car to aid in the evacuation. After the ambulance left, the policeman stayed on the field to fill out a report on the incident.

The referee, in his desire to continue the game, nearly attacked the policeman and ordered him off the field. "Get that car off the field," he said. "We have a tournament schedule to keep."

The six-foot, broad shouldered lawman looked down at this referee and said, "One more word out of you, and you will leave this field - in handcuffs."

Silence!

The referee had confused his jurisdictions. His power did not extend beyond the narrow limits of a boys' tournament soccer match. Limits, limits, limits.

It is very difficult at all times to know our limits. Should we butt in? Do we have the right to criticize? Are we on firm ground, or have we gone past our authority?

You, my reader, are the sole judge of these questions.