A Milwaukee County circuit judge has reversed a lower-court decision in a closely watched Lake Michigan shoreline access case, a ruling that could influence how Wisconsin courts interpret the public's right to walk along the Great Lakes coast.
On Sept. 3, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge J.D. Watts ruled in favor of Shorewood resident Paul Florsheim, who appealed a decision from the Shorewood Municipal Court after being found guilty of trespassing for walking along the shoreline near Atwater Beach in July 2025.
The Milwaukee County Circuit Court heard oral arguments in the appeal Aug. 13.
In December 2025, at the municipal court case, Florsheim, a Shorewood resident and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, argued the trespassing citation Shorewood police issued was unlawful. However, the court ruled against him, ordering him to pay the $313 ticket.
Florsheim's argument has centered on Wisconsin's public-trust doctrine, which protects public rights in navigable waters and the land beneath them. His attorneys argued that those rights extend to walking on the Lake Michigan beach between the water's edge and the ordinary high-water mark.
That mark is the visible boundary created by the water's repeated movement, such as erosion or a persistent loss of vegetation.
"I'm pleased that I won't be penalized for walking along the beach - something I've been doing for nearly fifty years," Florsheim said in a news release sent shortly after the ruling. "I don't believe I should have been put in the position of having to defend myself for exercising my rights under Wisconsin's public trust doctrine. As Wisconsinites, we have a right to enjoy our Great Lakes and the shoreline that makes them accessible."
The village argued that shoreline property owners retain control of the beach down to the water's edge, relying on Doemel v. Jantz, a 1923 Wisconsin Supreme Court decision involving Lake Winnebago.
During August arguments, Watts noted that the century-old case involved an inland lake rather than Lake Michigan, where the legal framework may differ.
The case has attracted attention because Wisconsin courts have not fully resolved whether the public may walk along Great Lakes beaches below the ordinary high-water mark. Michigan and Indiana allow public walking along portions of their Great Lakes shorelines, while Wisconsin's law remains less clear.
The dispute also comes as access conflicts have surfaced elsewhere on Wisconsin's Lake Michigan shoreline.
For example, in Ozaukee County disagreements near Lion's Den Gorge Nature Preserve have prompted discussion of permanent signs and a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources determination establishing the ordinary high-water mark.
It's not yet clear whether the Village of Shorewood will appeal the decision. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel did not immediately hear back from Village Attorney Nathan Bayer. Shorewood Municipal Judge Margo Kirchner was also not immediately available for comment.
Caitlin Looby covers the Great Lakes and the environment for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact: [email protected]. Follow her on X @caitlooby.
Contact Claudia Levens at [email protected]. Follow her on X at @levensc13.
Caitlin is an Outrider Fellow and also receives support from the Brico Fund, Fund for Lake Michigan, Barbara K. Frank, and individual contributions to the Journal Sentinel Community-Funded Journalism Project. Journal Sentinel editors maintain full editorial control over all content. To support this work, visit jsonline.com/support. Checks can be addressed to Local Media Foundation (memo: "JS Community Journalism") and mailed to P.O. Box 85015, Chicago, IL 60689.
The JS Community-Funded Journalism Project is made possible through our partnership with Local Media Foundation, tax ID #36-4427750, a Section 501(c)(3) charitable trust affiliated with Local Media Association, and EnMotive, LLC, a subsidiary of USA TODAY Co., Inc.−the parent company of this publication.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee court reverses Shorewood Lake Michigan beach access ruling