Standing up before going to court (5)
I believe the answer is:
erect
'standing up' is the definition.
'before going to court' is the wordplay.
'before' becomes 'ere' (usually literary).
'going to' says to put letters next to each other.
'court' becomes 'ct'.
'ere'+'ct'='ERECT'
(Other definitions for erect that I've seen before include "Construct - perpendicular" , "Standing vertically" , "Upright or vertical" , "Crete (anag)" , "Found" .)