Information is a formal criminal charge made without a grand jury indictment by a prosecutor in a document called an information.
The term is used in Canada and various other common law jurisdictions, including a number of U.S. states.
The information is one of the oldest common law pleadings (first appearing around the 13th century), and is nearly as old as the better-known indictment, with which it has always coexisted.
Read article at Wikipedia
