Individual is tense after day in court (8)
I believe the answer is:
distinct
'individual' is the definition.
(distinct can mean individual or separate)
'is tense after day in court' is the wordplay.
'tense' becomes 't' (abbreviation used in many dictionaries).
'after' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'day' becomes 'd' (abbreviation for day).
'court' becomes 'ct' (abbreviation used in road names).
'is'+'t'='ist'
'ist' after 'd' is 'dist'.
'dist'+'in'+'ct'='DISTINCT'
(Other definitions for distinct that I've seen before include "Definite and unmistakeable" , "Separate and clear-cut" , "Definite and unmistakable" , "detached" , "Individual, separate" .)