Overview
- Associate Justice Gloria Tan denied Treasurer Deborah Goldberg’s request for a stay, concluding Goldberg had not shown a likelihood of success on appeal.
- Goldberg notified the attorney general’s office she will not press the appeal and said continuing the fight would further harm the Cannabis Control Commission.
- Goldberg maintained public criticism of the Superior Court ruling even as she ended the case, saying the decision minimized concerns about O’Brien’s behavior.
- Suffolk Superior Court Judge Robert B. Gordon had ordered O’Brien reinstated with back pay, citing insufficient evidence for ‘gross misconduct’ and restoring her term through Aug. 31, 2027.
- The CCC now pivots from prolonged turmoil and turnover toward normal operations, with its next public meeting scheduled for Monday, Sept. 29; O’Brien’s allies have criticized legal costs, claiming more than $1 million spent on outside lawyers.