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Christoper Bucio Attorney at Law

Criminal Case In Court

Bill of Information vs. Indictment

A bill of Information is a charging instrument, similar to an indictment. When a person is indicted, a grand jury has determined that there is enough evidence to proceed with a trial. When a person is "charged through a bill of information," that means no grand jury has found that there is evidence to go forward. If a person agrees to be charged through a bill of information the case can proceed. If they don't agree to it, then the prosecutor has to get an indictment. This is used regularly in cases where a defendant has already been indicted but wants to take a plea bargain to different charges than those indicted. Rather than go through the hassle of getting another indictment, the defendant and prosecutor agree to a bill of information and proceed on that charging instrument rather than an indictment.