Cabinet material got promoted before court date (8)
I believe the answer is:
rosewood
'cabinet material' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'got promoted before court date' is the wordplay.
'got promoted' becomes 'rose' (I've seen this in another clue).
'before' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'court' becomes 'woo' (both can mean to romance someone).
'date' becomes 'd' (common abbreviation eg in DOB, date of birth).
'rose'+'woo'+'d'='ROSEWOOD'
(Other definitions for rosewood that I've seen before include "Kin to mahogany" , "cabinet material" , "Material for violins, etc" , "Furniture-maker" , "Timber used in cabinetmaking -- or so do we (anag)" .)