From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcome before somebody/something phrasal verb formalSENDto be brought to someone in authority, especially a judge in a law court, to be judged or discussed by them When you come before the judge, it’s best to tell the truth. The case will come before the courts next month. → come→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
come before • They also want the latest and greatest to be completely compatible with everything that came before it.• In Leicester youth court, the influx of 17-year-olds has doubled the number of juvenile offenders coming before magistrates.• Which is fine-but nothing that comes before television is covered in any detail at all.• John Titford came before the church & made a profession of his faith to their satisfaction.• Our report will come before the Council for the first time a week today.• Quill is a lead plaintiff in one of the most important, emotional cases to come before the high court in 1997.• These claims are being tested in a case that came before the Law Lords last week. 