In front of the judge, group will be distressed (5)
I believe the answer is:
upset
'distressed' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'in front of the judge group' is the wordplay.
'in front of the judge' becomes 'up' (as in being up before the judge).
'group' becomes 'set' (both can mean a collection).
'up'+'set'='UPSET'
'will be' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for upset that I've seen before include "Overturn, spill" , "Discomfit" , "Knocked over; unhappy" , "Put out" , "Disturb, physically or emotionally" .)