Update:
On September 3, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge J.D. Watts dismissed the Village of Shorewood beach trespassing citation Paul Florsheim received over a year ago. He received the citation after he walked beyond the public beach onto what the village considers to be private land.
In his decision, Watts wrote, "Lake Michigan, a navigable, boundary lake, is governed by the Public Trust Dotrine. There is no dispute of fact that Florsheim walked on the shore below the OHWM (ordinary high water mark) and the water’s edge of Lake Michigan. The title to the beds of Lake Michigan up to the line of OHWM is in the State. The State holds the beds underlying in navigable waters in trust for all of its citizens."
Paul Florsheim says he feels vindicated. “I don't know if his ruling puts the issue to rest but I hope it has an impact on how cities and municipalities behave. We will be looking into options for assuring that Judge Watts's ruling can be more broadly applied, such as through the legislature.”
Village manager Rebecca Ewald told WUWM Shorewood will be reviewing the decision and has no comments at this time.
WUWM will continue to follow this story.
Original story from August 14, 2026:
The case of the Shorewood resident fighting for the public's right to enjoy Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan shoreline is not over.
A year ago, local police ticketed Florsheim for walking north of Atwater Beach on to what the village considers private property.
Florsheim believes everyone has the right to enjoy the Lake Michigan shoreline, so last winter, he appealed but lost in municipal court.
Florsheim pressed on, and his case is now in Milwaukee County Circuit Court.
Thursday afternoon, Judge J.D. Watts listened to both sides — Florsheim and the Village of Shorewood.
Attorney Rob Lee with Midwest Environmental Advocates represents Florsheim. Lee argued the public has a constitutional right to the Lake Michigan shoreline.
“Below the high-water mark on navigable lakes, that land is held in trust by the state on behalf of the public,” Lee said. ”It is the public’s land, not the riparian owners' land.“
Attorney Nathan Bayer represents the Village of Shorewood.
“I’ll be very brief Your Honor, but I want to be very clear about something. This is not state-owned land. I’ll repeat that — this is not state-owned land,” Bayer said.
Bayer drew from a 1923 Lake Winnebago shoreline dispute. In that case, the state Supreme Court ruled in favor of the property owner.
“Doemel (v. Jantz) is still good law, and it's a law that controls this particular case. And we believe that the only conclusion that can be drawn is the conviction should be upheld,” Bayer said.
Judge Watts said he’ll issue a written decision by Sept. 4.
“This is a very, very interesting issue, but I can let everyone be assured that the court does what it needs to do," Watts said. "The court doesn't do dramatic things to be dramatic."
Paul Florsheim said he left the courtroom feeling puzzled. He’s uncertain what the judge’s decision might be.
“My concern is that what we end up with doesn't resolve the issue — the larger issue of can the public have clear access to public trust land, and that public trust includes the beach on Lake Michigan,” Florsheim said.
