Knoll Is Out. White Is In. The Assault Charge Isn’t Resolved — And It Never Went Through the Retirement Papers.

Anna White took the bench at Holland’s 58th District Court today, filling the vacancy left by Bradley Knoll’s resignation. Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced the appointment on June 25; , White will officially take the bench on July 6, with her term running through noon on Jan. 1, 2027.

That much is straightforward personnel news. What’s circulating alongside it on social media is not. A widely shared post frames Knoll’s departure as a direct consequence of an arrest for assaulting an attorney.

Two Incidents, Not One

Knoll has been the subject of two separate criminal matters in under three years. They are legally and factually distinct, and conflating them obscures rather than clarifies the record.

Incident One — December 13, 2023

Knoll struck his wife on the head with an open hand during a domestic dispute at their Grand Haven home, after an earlier confrontation in which he grabbed his wife’s 12-year-old grandson by the face. The Judicial Tenure Commission’s complaint centered on a December 2023 incident at the judge’s Grand Haven home in which Knoll struck his wife with an open hand and slapped her on the top of her head, then verbally threatened a responding officer. The child called 911. Knoll pleaded guilty to misdemeanor domestic assault, completed roughly four months of probation, and the case was dismissed without a conviction ever being entered on his record, after he was sentenced in March 2024 to four months’ probation and ordered to complete an anger management class.

This case is what produced formal discipline. The Judicial Tenure Commission filed a complaint in April 2025, and the Michigan Supreme Court approved a consent agreement in March 2026 setting Knoll’s retirement for July 1, 2026 — about six months before his term would have expired on its own, with Knoll also required to refrain from presiding over any case involving domestic violence charges during his last months on the bench. He was also barred from accepting a visiting judgeship before January 1, 2027, and from ever hearing domestic violence cases if he does.

Incident Two — February 13, 2026

According to WOOD TV8’s reporting, Knoll assaulted a man who appeared before him in his own courtroom, an incident Michigan State Police investigated. This is a different category of conduct than the 2023 case — it allegedly happened while Knoll was actively performing his judicial function, against someone with no choice about being in that courtroom.

Knoll waived arraignment and pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor assault on May 29, 2026, four months after the incident. If convicted, he faces up to 93 days in jail. The case was assigned to visiting Judge Geoffrey Nolan to avoid venue conflicts, with a pre-trial hearing held June 24, 2026. As of this writing, there is no public record of a verdict, plea deal, or dismissal in that case.

Docket Update — July 6, 2026

MiCOURT’s public case search confirms the matter remains open under Case No. 2026-HL26023221-SM, State of Michigan v. Knoll, filed May 11, 2026, in the 58th District Court — Holland. The June 24 date was a scheduling hearing rather than a disposition; the docket now sets a Final Pre-Trial for August 18, 2026, at 1:30 p.m., still before Judge Nolan. No sentencing, disposition, or closed date has been entered. The single charge on file is misdemeanor assault or assault and battery, tied to the February 13, 2026 offense date, with no amendment or reduction noted.

Resignation vs. Retirement — A Distinction the Record Preserves

The JTC consent agreement uses “retirement,” tied specifically to the 2023 domestic violence case and its resulting misconduct findings. Coverage of the vacancy itself refers to Knoll’s “resignation”, with Ottawa News Network reporting that White’s appointment follows the resignation of Judge Bradley Knoll. Both terms appear in reputable sourcing and may reflect procedural distinctions in how the vacancy was formally created versus how the JTC agreement characterized his exit — but neither term, in the sourcing I’ve reviewed, is tied to the pending assault charge. The assault case remains a live, separate criminal matter that his exit from the bench does not resolve.

Who’s Taking the Bench

Anna White moves to the 58th District Court from the Ottawa County Office of the Public Defender, where she served as a deputy public defender. Her legal background also includes a prior role as an associate at Holland firm Hann Persinger, P.C.— the same firm where Knoll himself practiced as president and an attorney before his 2002 election to the bench, a detail that adds a small note of local-legal-community continuity to the transition, whatever else it does or doesn’t imply.

White holds a Bachelor of Arts in social work from Hope College and a Juris Doctor from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, and has served on the boards of Movement West Michigan and Compassionate Heart Ministries. Her term runs through noon on January 1, 2027, at which point the seat goes back to the voters.

What’s Still Open

The bench transition is complete. The accountability question is not. A misdemeanor assault charge tied to conduct allegedly committed from the bench itself — against a person Knoll held institutional authority over — remains open on the docket, with a final pre-trial now set for August 18, 2026. That case will resolve on its own timeline, independent of who now sits in Knoll’s old chair. Clutch Justice will update this piece as the docket moves.

Sources

• WOOD TV8, “Holland judge accused of assaulting man from the bench” — woodtv.com
• WOOD TV8, “Holland judge to retire early after domestic violence charge” — woodtv.com
• WZZM13, “Holland judge who pleaded guilty to domestic assault suspended, ordered to retire” — wzzm13.com
• Legal News (Zeeland Record), “Judge Agrees to Step Down Early After Domestic Violence…” — legalnews.com
• Ottawa News Network, “Ottawa Public Defender Anna White appointed to Holland’s 58th District Court bench” — ottawanewsnetwork.org
• Ballotpedia, “Bradley S. Knoll” — ballotpedia.org
• MiCOURT Case Search, State of Michigan v. Knoll, Case No. 2026-HL26023221-SM, 58th District Court — Holland
• Clutch Justice, Brady/Giglio Watch List — clutchjustice.com/brady-giglio-santobello
• Clutch Justice, “Michigan Judge Forced Into Early Retirement After Domestic Assault” (Apr. 9, 2026) — clutchjustice.com
• Clutch Justice, “Holland Judge Bradley Knoll Charged With Courthouse Assault — A Second Documented Incident in Three Years” (May 30, 2026) — clutchjustice.com

Clutch Justice — Court Accountability, Michigan