There were 23 observers on the side of the Village of Richfield and 6 observers on the side of Danah Zoulek. Jim Healy, Richfield Village Administrator, sat with 2 village attorneys and Danah sat with her attorney. Her husband sat behind her and Jeff Gonyo sat just behind the railing.
Judge Gonring noted he had reviewed all the documents from both sides and was ready to make a decision and would not accept any further arguments from either side. He would allow supplements as long as they are not repeats of all the documents he had received for this case.
(The attorneys and judge spoke very quickly, so much of what was said could not be noted as no recording devices were allowed in the courtroom. Therefore this post will not be able to give finite details of what was said.)
Danah's attorney spoke first and stated 3 points. He first noted " We do not want to be bad neighbors and then stated a quotation. Secondly he gave case law regarding another case about DOT and road jobs in Wisconsin. Third point was regarding the opinion of the DNR and a conclusion of a case in Oak Creek.
One of the attorneys for the village made a very brief statement.
Judge Gonring said he was ready to rule on this case and hopefully prevent additional costs. In his 3 page decision he detailed various reasons for his decision, one being local governments have the right to enforce zoning regulations. He stated various prior cases which supported his decision.
Ultimately Judge Gonring ruled to DENY judgment to Danah Zoulek. He ruled in favor of the Village of Richfield. He ended by noting this case will probably go to the Appeals Court.
Court ended 20 minutes after it began.
Afterward some of the observers mingled outside the courtroom and a reporter from Fox 6 asked, "Does anyone know took the video with a drone and put it up on a web site"? No one knew the answer.
He said he was there because of another story he was doing on drones. Someone asked how he heard of this case and he said "Danah had called me".