Legal Definitions - true bill

Definition: True bill (also called true bill of indictment) refers to a decision made by a Grand Jury to indict a criminal defendant. This decision is made when the Grand Jury believes that the prosecution has provided enough evidence to show probable cause.

For example, if a person is accused of committing a crime, the prosecution will present evidence to a Grand Jury. If the Grand Jury believes that there is enough evidence to show that the person probably committed the crime, they will issue a true bill. This means that the person will be formally charged with the crime and will have to go to trial.

However, if the Grand Jury does not believe that there is enough evidence to show probable cause, they will issue a no bill. This means that the person will not be charged with the crime and the case will be dropped.

Grand juries are used by the federal government and all states except for Pennsylvania and Connecticut in some capacity for criminal indictments.