Removed or taken out of court (3)
I believe the answer is:
cut
'removed' is the definition.
'or taken out of court' is the wordplay.
'taken out of' indicates named letters should be taken away.
'court' with 'or' removed is 'CUT'.
(Other definitions for cut that I've seen before include "Hacked off" , "Reduction in power" , "Cross" , "Cold-shoulder" , "Incise" .)