True bill (also called true bill of indictment) refers to a decision to indict a criminal defendant by a Grand Jury. When a Grand Jury decides the prosecution has provided enough evidence to show probable cause, they give a true bill which actually indicts the defendant, but if a Grand Jury thinks the prosecution did not show probable cause, they issue a no bill which forces the prosecution to drop the charges. Grand juries are used by the federal government and all states except for Pennsylvania and Connecticut in some capacity for criminal indictments.
[Last updated in November of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]