One in a series on local judges.
by Sean McManus
Staff Writer
Peter Fryefield thought he was destined for a career in advertising.
“It was the day before I was supposed to show up for my first day at the biggest ad agency in Boston — and I’m not kidding about this — I had a dream I was in law school in Gainesville. So I left Boston and started school that fall,” said Fryefield, a Massachusetts native.
Fryefield finished law school in 1974 and a week later, he was working in the Public Defender’s Office in Jacksonville. A week after that, Miami State Attorney Janet Reno, offered him a job, but it was too late.
But there’s more to Fryefield than a 28-year legal career. He likes to surf and windsurf, and sea kayak and play bluegrass on his guitars — plural — when he’s not one the bench.
“I have two very old Martin vintage, pre-war guitars,” said Fryefield. “I travel during the year, going to different bluegrass festivals.”
Fryefield started playing the guitar when he was 15. He liked folk music at first, finger-picking classics by artists such as James Taylor. Later, he switched to bluegrass because he like the diversity of instruments — the mandolin and the banjo — and the participatory aspects of the music, the camaraderie.
“I’ve made a lot of great friends,” he said, adding his brother Rick is a country music singer, but “I taught him everything he knows.”
As his legal career ascended, his music interests waned, at least until 1992, when he tried one of his most memorable cases.
“I was representing the injured party in a medical malpractice case in Maui,” he said. “Great people in Hawaii. Great surf, too.”
Fryefield said that was the only trial he’s ever been a part of where the lawyers, the judges and the jury all worked on “island time,” which means starting around 10 a.m. and finishing about 4 p.m.
“The attorneys were all wearing Hawaiian shirts and one even had shorts on. I felt a little overdressed,” he said.
Fryefield was defending a woman who had to have a leg amputated. He spent weeks in medical libraries researching data that would contradict the doctor’s testimony. He says that kind of “sparring” is what he likes most about the law.
Three days before closing arguments, Fryefield heard from the locals about “three to five foot swells” coming in offshore.
“What I found out is that they measure waves differently over there,” said Fryefield, who first surfed in 1964 when Hurricane Dora was heading to town. “So I paddled out in waves as big as my house. I thought I was going to die.”
He not only survived the surf, he even won the case. Afterwards, as the winning lawyer, he had to take the jury out to dinner, an island tradition.
“There’s a lot of interesting traditions over there, actually. The jury was playing cards for money during the breaks,” he said.
It was during Fryefield’s three weeks in Hawaii that he picked up the guitar again.
“I was staying in this beautiful condo on the beach, overlooking this big volcano on Maui and a local guy I was working with on the case brought over a guitar one night,” he said. “I was back.”
Fryefield left the Public Defender’s Office, entering private practice with local attorneys Glenn Allen and Rodney Margol. The firm handled criminal law, personal injury cases and family law.
Fryefield then joined Rufus Pennington to create Margol, Fryefield and Pennington. After a few years on his own, Fryefield and attorney Josh Whitman started a firm.
Fryefield was appointed to the bench in 1995 by Gov. Lawton Chiles. He spent four months in the criminal felony division, two years in family court and returned to the felony division for two more years before moving to civil court.
For Fryefield, being a judge “presents some kind of new intellectual challenge.”
“You have to maintain a critical eye for details and listen closely. And besides, I always enjoyed Perry Mason when I was a kid,” he said.
Fryefield credits his wife Diane, who he met 24 years ago and his family — Arden, a junior at Florida State, Warren, a freshman at University of Florida, and Branham (Branie) the youngest, is a freshman at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts — with his decision to become a judge. They said he spent too much time traveling as a lawyer.
But Fryefield still likes to hit the road occasionally. He’s going to the Merle Watson Festival in Wilkesboro, N.C. this year to play guitar. Watson is the son of the late Doc Watson. He also travels Nashville regularly and the Spirit of Sewanee Park to jam.
“There’s a lot of theater in law,” said Fryefield, when asked to draw a link between playing bluegrass and being a judge. “The judge is the director, the lawyers are the actors and we all put on a production to achieve justice.”