O.C.G.A. § 9-16-15 (2019)

(a) For good cause shown by the state or the owner or interest holder of the property, the court may stay civil forfeiture proceedings during the pendency of criminal proceedings resulting from a related indictment or accusation until such time as the criminal proceedings result in a plea of guilty, a conviction after trial, or an acquittal after trial or are otherwise concluded before the trial court. (b) An acquittal or dismissal in a criminal proceeding shall not preclude civil forfeiture proceedings.

(c) A defendant convicted in any criminal proceeding shall be precluded from later denying the essential allegations of the criminal offense of which the defendant was convicted in any civil forfeiture proceeding against such defendant pursuant to this chapter, regardless of the pendency of an appeal from that conviction; provided, however, that the evidence of the pendency of an appeal shall be admissible. For the purposes of this subsection, the term ‘conviction’ means the result from a verdict or plea of guilty, including a plea of nolo contendere.