114
Opinion of Stevens, J.
Justice Stevens announced the judgment of the Court and delivered an opinion, in which Justice Blackmun, Justice O'Connor, and Justice Souter join.
The question presented is whether an owner's lack of knowledge of the fact that her home had been purchased with the proceeds of illegal drug transactions constitutes a defense to a forfeiture proceeding under the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, § 511(a), 84 Stat. 1276, as amended, 21 U. S. C. § 881(a)(6).1
I
On April 3, 1989, the Government filed an in rem action against the parcel of land in Rumson, New Jersey, on which respondent's home is located. The verified complaint alleged that the property had been purchased in 1982 by respondent with funds provided by Joseph Brenna that were "the proceeds traceable to an [unlawful] exchange for a controlled substance," App. 13, and that the property was therefore subject to seizure and forfeiture under § 881(a)(6), id., at 15.2
1 The statute provides: "The following shall be subject to forfeiture to the United States and no property right shall exist in them:
. . . . . "(6) All moneys, negotiable instruments, securities, or other things of value furnished or intended to be furnished by any person in exchange for a controlled substance in violation of [21 U. S. C. §§ 801-904], all proceeds traceable to such an exchange, and all moneys, negotiable instruments, and securities used or intended to be used to facilitate any violation of this subchapter, except that no property shall be forfeited under this paragraph, to the extent of the interest of an owner, by reason of any act or omission established by that owner to have been committed or omitted without the knowledge or consent of that owner."
2 See n. 1, supra. The complaint also alleged that the property had been used in 1986 to facilitate the distribution of proceeds of an illegal
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