The Hon. Peter L. Dearing (Ret.) served as a judge for the 4th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. Dearing was appointed to the bench by former Governor Bob Martinez in 1988. He retired at the conclusion of his term in 2019.
The 4th Judicial Circuit encompasses Clay County, Duval County, and Nassau County. Dearing held assignments in Duval County, presiding over cases in the Probate Division.
Prior to his appointment, Dearing was an attorney at Mahoney, Hadlow, Chambers & Adams, a law firm he joined in 1975. During his tenure there, he specialized in commercial litigation and federal criminal defense matters.
Dearing earned a B.A. in political science from the University of the South (Sewanee) in 1968. He then completed a J.D. at the University of Florida, Fredric G. Levin College of Law, in 1970. Dearing later earned a certificate in theology from the Sewanee School of Theology.
After graduating from law school, Dearing began his legal career as a law clerk to the Hon. Gerald Tjoflat of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. He served in that capacity for one year, eventually leaving to become an assistant United States attorney with the Office of the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida.
His memberships have included the American Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, the Christian Legal Society, and the Jacksonville Bar Association. He also taught as an instructor at the Florida College of Advanced Judicial Studies (1993 to 1997) and Florida Coastal School of Law (1999 to 2000).
He is a recipient of the Community Service Award from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (1983).
Dearing was born in Jacksonville, Florida, and attended Jackson High School and the Bolles School. He is a descendant of Isaiah D. Hart, the founder of Jacksonville, and John Brady, an early settler and major property owner in Jacksonville. Dearing was ordained as an Episcopalian minister after his father, taking a sabbatical from work to spend a year serving as a missionary in England. When not presiding over legal proceedings, Dearing spent his weekends with Kairos Prison Ministry, a Christian faith-based ministry that supports the spiritual needs of prisoners.