Lake Michigan shoreline in Shorewood
SHOREWOOD, Wis. - A Shorewood municipal judge on Wednesday found a man guilty of trespassing for choosing to walk along the Lake Michigan shoreline – past "no trespassing" signs that marked private property – last year.
Fine with fine
What's next:
As a result of the guilty verdict, Paul Florsheim will have to pay a $313 ticket. It's an outcome he's not only fine with, it's the one he wanted when he chose to defend himself in municipal court at Shorewood Village Hall in December.
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Florsheim told FOX6 News that he hoped to appeal a guilty verdict all the way to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and he'd already had environmental attorneys reach out wanting to represent him at that time.
Shorewood beach trespassing case could impact public shoreline access
A $313 ticket and an unrelenting walker could help decide the public's access to Lake Michigan's shoreline.
‘No trespassing’
The backstory:
Florsheim said he had walked the stretch of Shorewood beach on and off for about 50 years until he ran into the property owner, Dan Domagala, last summer.
"He kinda waved his arms," Florsheim said of Domagala. "He said, 'You can't, you can't walk here.' He said, you know, 'Did you see the sign?' and I said, ‘Yeah, I saw the sign,’ and he said, 'And then?' and I said, 'and then, I ignored the sign.'"
Domagala gave FOX6 News video from a surveillance camera that showed Florsheim again walk past "no trespassing" signs later in July. He reported Florsheim for trespassing, and police later ticketed Florsheim.
Florsheim seen on surveillance video
Beach access
Dig deeper:
The village argued that a 1923 Wisconsin Supreme Court opinion proves Florsheim was trespassing. In Doemel vs. Jantz, the court found private property owners own the land between the water line and what's known as the ordinary high-water mark, a boundary line left by water. The opinion also holds that the public has the right to access that spot when the water is high.
"This is a point where public and private interests collide, and you can understand why. If you spent a lot of money on a piece of waterfront property, you'd want that beach for your own use," said David Striffling, director of Marquette University Law School's Water Law and Policy Initiative.
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What they're saying:
Though he wasn't walking in the water, Florsheim argued he wasn't trespassing – he said he was navigating a public waterway by walking the beach.
Florsheim pointed to a law within the Wisconsin Constitution – the public trust doctrine. It requires so-called "navigable waters" be forever free, including the land beneath waterways.
The Source: FOX6 News received the Village of Shorewood Municipal Court decision and referenced prior coverage related to the case.