Overview

• Suffolk Superior Court Judge Robert B. Gordon ruled the treasurer failed to meet the statute’s high standard of gross misconduct or inability to perform for removing Shannon O’Brien.
• He ordered O’Brien’s immediate return to complete her term through 2027 and awarded back pay and benefits from the date of her removal.
• Gordon declined to stay his decision, writing that an appeal is unlikely to succeed and that further delay would harm the public interest.
• Treasurer Deborah Goldberg has filed an appeal arguing legal error and warning that O’Brien’s return after two years away would destabilize the agency.
• The case unfolds as audits fault the Cannabis Control Commission for widespread mismanagement, leadership has turned over, taxpayer legal bills have topped $1 million, and a House-passed bill would overhaul the agency’s governance and strip the treasurer’s appointment role.