January 13, 1996

The Supreme Court agreed to take up the growing legal debate over the Government's antidrug strategy: whether the Constitution allows prosecutors to seek a criminal conviction for a narcotics violation and forfeiture of a defendant's property. This double-barreled approach is favored by Federal prosecutors in part because forfeiture is usually a civil proceeding that requires a lower standard of proof than the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard necessary for a criminal conviction. Under civil forfeiture rules, the Government can seize a suspect's property even if a jury has acquitted the suspect of all criminal charges.

Heliport to Oust Car Pound

Sam Lewallen, 9, approached the water's edge gingerly, stuck in one toe and then took the plunge, screaming all the way: "It's deep! It's cold!" But this was no day at the beach. Sam was crossing West Broadway yesterday on the way home from school.

Because of production delays caused by the weather, some home delivery subscribers will not find The Times Magazine today in the package of Sunday sections delivered in advance. Those subscribers will receive the magazine tomorrow.

Signaling that NATO will soon broaden its duties in Bosnia, and clarifying American policy on a sensitive topic, Defense Secretary William J. Perry says that beginning later this month, American and other alliance troops will provide security for human rights investigators looking into evidence of war crimes in Bosnia. Under the terms of the Balkan peace plan reached in November, the main military missions of the 60,000-member force are to supervise marking of cease-fire lines and to insure that rival forces withdraw from the lines.