Bind over is a term applied to the act of a court requiring a person to perform a specific action. Typically, that action is appearing in court for a hearing or trial. The order to bind over a person may include incarceration until the court date, but could also apply to a bond being set, which should encourage the individual to show up for the court date or forfeit the money. Typically, binding over means to hold in custody.
If a person has been convicted of a crime, the court also has within its jurisdiction to bind over for sentence, which is done to ensure the individual shows up for a sentencing hearing. If the court determines the individual needs to be incarcerated until the time of sentencing, then the court will apply credit for the time served awaiting sentencing. In most cases, only if a person has been convicted of a felony offense will they be incarcerated until judgment is pronounced.
Once a bind over order has been issued, there is little that can be done before the hearing in question to change it. If there is a substantial delay between the order and the scheduled hearing date, an attorney may file for a bond review hearing. That may allow a judge to change his or her mind and order bail, rather than keeping the accused or convicted individual in jail. Bond review hearings are very common in many jurisdictions, but do not always result in a change of circumstances for the defendant.