It seems logical that anyone who wants to enjoy the Lake Michigan shoreline has that right.
But that’s not what Paul Florsheim was told when he walked north of Atwater Beach in Shorewood last summer.
Shorewood maintains residents who own homes along the lakeshore own everything down to the water’s edge.
That’s what a municipal judge said when she ruled against Florsheim last December – saying he had trespassed on private property.
But Florsheim decided to stand by his belief that not just he, but everyone, has the right to enjoy the lakeshore.
In February, Midwest Environmental Advocates (MEA) took on Florsheim’s case.
When the Madison-based law firm filed its appeal in the Milwaukee Circuit Court, it called it “the next step in a series of legal proceedings that could go all the way up to the Wisconsin Supreme Court."
Florsheim says his case isn't about singling out the Village of Shorewood’s no trespassing policy.
"I do think what’s at stake is public access to Public Trust land which does include the shoreline of Lake Michigan. Two states have had this issue resolved — Indiana and the state of Michigan allow people to walk that shoreline regardless of who owns the property above that shoreline,” Florsheim says.
The case is in the hands of Circuit Court Branch 15 in Milwaukee County with Honorable J. D. Watts.
On April 21, the judge issued an explainer on what he is thinking about the case.
“We are hoping to take this all the way to the [state] supreme court. And our expectation is that the circuit court judge would pretty much agree with the municipal court judge who said that she didn’t have the authority to overrule the original case,” Florsheim says.
That’s a 1923 case, Doemel v. Jantz.
“[Judge Watts'] argument, hopefully I’m representing it correctly...is that because the original 1923 case was a matter of one person suing the other person, that’s the way it should be handled. The property owner had a right to sue me, perhaps for being on his property – I wasn’t on his property, but I don’t dispute that I was on the beach – but that the Village of Shorewood does not have the authority to issue a ticket,” he says.
Florsheim describes Judge Watts' comments as an unexpected twist.
“It kind of is in sync with my original argument, because I didn’t think Shorewood had the right to issue a ticket," he says. "But it also doesn’t clearly say I wasn’t trespassing either. So, in order for me to make the case that I wasn’t trespassing, it would need to go all the way to the supreme court. At least that’s my understanding."
There’s a hearing scheduled for August 13 before Judge Watts.
Florsheim believes the judge will issue his decision at that time. “He is waiting for both sides to issue briefs, sort of what our argument about this case and what the Village’s is about this case and then he will consider that very carefully and make a final ruling. And so we don’t know what that is at this point. He didn’t say, 'this is what I’m going to do,'” Florsheim says.
Florsheim has no regrets standing up for what he believes is right, “I really do feel it’s important for everyone to walk that shoreline and I and would really love to be able to see the day when it gets overruled and people have that access."
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