Commonwealth v. Fourteen Thousand Two Hundred Dollars

This civil action, seeking an order of forfeiture under G. L. c. 94C, § 47 (¿7), was commenced in 1988. At that time the statute required the Commonwealth to prove “all material facts by a preponderance of the evidence.” The statute was amended by St. 1989, c. 653, § 79, to provide that the “[Commonwealth shall have the burden of proving to the court the existence of probable cause to institute the action. . . .” After trial in 1991, a Superior Court judge concluded that the Commonwealth had sustained its burden of showing that the claimant’s “funds probably were obtained as a result of sales…