Judge in long grass rescued (8)
I believe the answer is:
redeemed
'rescued' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'judge in long grass' is the wordplay.
'judge' becomes 'deem' (I've seen this before).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'long grass' becomes 'reed' (type of grass plant).
'deem' inserted within 'reed' is 'REDEEMED'.
(Other definitions for redeemed that I've seen before include "Saved from sins or bought back from the pawnshop" , "Rescued, from hell or pawn" , "Recovered possession - paid back" , "bought back from uncle?" , "Atoned for" .)