Definition

1. Phrasal Verb (Legal): To order a defendant to be placed in custody or to provide a guarantee (such as a bail bond) to ensure their appearance in court for future legal proceedings. It is a court order requiring a person to do something, typically to keep the peace or to appear at a trial.

Usage

This term is used almost exclusively in formal legal contexts. A judge "binds over" a defendant. The defendant "is bound over" for a specific next step in the legal process. * The magistrate decided to bind the accused over for trial at the Crown Court. * After the hearing, he was bound over to keep the peace for twelve months.

Examples

• The court bound over the witness to ensure her appearance at the trial.
• Defendants charged with a felony are typically bound over for trial following a preliminary hearing.
• She was bound over to the High Court on charges of fraud.

Advanced Usage

• To bind (someone) over to (a court/institution): Specifies the court or authority to which the person is being transferred.
  • The case was serious, so the judge bound him over to the circuit court.
• To be bound over to keep the peace: A specific legal order where a person is required to promise, often with a financial guarantee, not to cause further trouble or break the law for a specified period.
  • Following the altercation, both individuals were bound over to keep the peace for six months.

Variants and Related Words

• Binding over (n): The action or process of issuing a bind over order.
  • The binding over of the defendant was a procedural necessity.
• Bind-over order (n): The formal legal order itself.
  • The judge issued a bind-over order requiring a £500 surety.

Synonyms

• Remand: To place a defendant in custody or on bail while awaiting trial. (Note: "Remand" is a broader term; a defendant can be "remanded in custody" or "remanded on bail," whereas "bound over" often implies a specific guarantee or condition for release.)
• Commit: To send a case or a person to a higher court for trial. (e.g., ).

Phrasal Verbs

• Bind over does not have further phrasal verb derivatives. It functions as a single, fixed legal phrasal verb.

Related Idioms

• To be bound over: This is the common passive form used to describe the status of the defendant.
  • Once bound over, he had to report to the court every week.

Verb

1. order a defendant to be placed in custody pending the outcome of a proceedings against him or her
   • The defendant was bound over for trial