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Glite Dictionary
to bind over

to bind over

2 9.8
To order a defendant to be kept in custody or to obey certain rules until a later court hearing
  • phrasal verb
  • Jargon
: imponer una fianza
  • Therefore, with those conclusions, I will order that the defendant be bound over to stand trial.
  • bound over for trial
  • case is bound over

Examples

  • I'm going to recommend you be bound over for a hearing in Superior Court.

  • The Commonwealth versus Henry Miller is bound over for trial.

    Justice Is Mind (2013)

  • If probable cause is established, the judge will order the defendant to be bound over for trial.

Synonyms

to arrest
vsto bind over
∞ 3.4

To detain someone and take them to the police station

is a court order to detain or require conditions until further proceedings
to bind
vsto bind over
  • Formal
216 4.4

To make someone legally required to do something

is a court order imposing custody or conditions, not a voluntary agreement

Antonyms

to release
∞ 1.8

To let someone or something go free from being held

discharge
  • Formal
77 5.2

The official release from a job, duty, or service

Surface Forms

bind over infinitive
binding over present participle
binds over third person singular
bound over past
bound over past participle

Morphology

bind + over

The core verb 'bind' (to impose an obligation) relates to the MWE's idea of legally obliging or holding someone, so a learner might infer a general sense of obligation. However, the particle 'over' is ambiguous and the precise legal procedural sense (ordering custody or specific conditions pending proceedings) is specialized and low-frequency, so the exact meaning is unlikely to be reliably derived by a B1 learner from the parts alone.

Etymology

Bind over may come from old courts where a person had to bind themselves with a promise or money, so the court kept control over them until the next hearing. That's why today it means 'to order someone to be held or to obey certain conditions'.