Today marks the 31st day of the circus in Albany. It is looking more and more likely that in the end the only ones who are going to win in this crisis, not surprisingly, are going to be the lawyers - whether they represent Democrats, Republicans, communities impacted, good government groups or the disaffected. The longer this drags out, the more opportunities for lawsuits and endless legal battles are created.

We are a litigious nation by nature - sometimes for the simple reason to prove a point (as the case of two gentlemen in Madison County rightly suing to make their courthouse more accessible), but often for money. In the carnival that has become Albany, if there is one thing that could be more enticing than money, it is power and making a political point - thus the likelihood of a plethora of lawsuits over Albany's inaction. They can come from political opponents, those who oppose measures for legitimate or illegitimate reasons or just want to be obstructionists.

While the proponents of each might contend that they are just looking to resolve the deadlock of the last five weeks, they are likely instead setting the groundwork for an avalanche of complications.

Assemblyman Michael Gianaris, D-Queens, holding a press conference with good government groups Monday, said that he would like the governor to use Section 43 of Public Officers Law to appoint a lieutenant governor, thus allowing the Senate 31-31 deadlock to be broken. Senate Republicans, who see the assemblyman as a possible candidate for attorney general next year, might sue if an appointment is made, contending, based on an opinion of current Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, that this can't be done. Sen. Darrel Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, who might run for Congress, is suing the Assembly to take the 125 bills passed when Sen. Frank Padavan, R-Queens, was counted as present on his way to get coffee and send them to the governor for his signature. And Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy has filed a suit to have a judge decide who the president pro tempore of the Senate is.

All of these ideas and suits, despite what may be their good intentions, could leave dozens of measures in limbo as they snake their way through a cumbersome legal system that could see dozens of judges and courts, adjudicating on hundreds of issues - just more of the fallout from the current chaos in Albany. The end result: massive billable hours for lawyers and good and bad legislation tied up for months, if not years.

Cosentino is a former mayor of Auburn and can be contacted at cozguytho@aol.com