Judicial support had a Liberal ... (5)
I believe the answer is:
legal
'judicial' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'support had a liberal' is the wordplay.
'support' becomes 'leg' (leg is a kind of support).
'had' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'liberal' becomes 'l' (abbreviation).
'leg'+'a'+'l'='LEGAL'
(Other definitions for legal that I've seen before include "Conforming with the law" , "Rightful" , "within the rules" , "Observing acts" , "Authorised" .)