The New York State Senate Democrats pledged that they were a united conference after a Friday meeting, after a New York State Supreme Court judge said he will rule Monday if the power grab by Senate Republicans earlier this week was legal.

Yet the half-dozen State Senate Democrats who met in Downtown Manhattan Friday afternoon did not indicate whether Malcolm Smith is still the head of the Democratic conference.

"We talked about the lawsuit and gave everybody an update as to where we are. We think we're making good headway on the lawsuit," said Smith. "The opinion on the courts seems to be in our favor and hopefully we'll know something by Monday. Our conference is very united."

The leading candidate to replace Smith is Brooklyn Senator John Sampson, but he kept silent over whether such a plan was discussed.

"We talked about our court case, we are united as a conference and united we'll go forward," said Sampson.

Democratic operatives, labor leaders and lawmakers were reportedly working on a deal to bring back Senator Hiram Monserrate to the conference, thus evening out the power balance by 31 to 31. However, Monserrate did not attend the meeting.

Meanwhile, after hearing arguments from representatives for both the Republicans and Democrats on the issue of who controls the Senate, Judge Thomas McNamara signed an action to show cause Friday.

That means the case is adjourned until Monday, when the Democrats must present cause for their claim that the takeover was illegal.

If not, the judge will sign the Republicans' motion to dismiss the charges.

The judge also asked the two parties to try to work out their differences out of court over the weekend.

"It would be in everyone's best interest if the Senate, over the weekend, got together and, when cameras aren't there, resolve this among yourselves," said Judge McNamara.

Meanwhile, Republican Senators Pedro Espada Jr. and Dean Skelos threatened legal action against Secretary of the Senate Angelo Aponte on Friday.

They said he is obstructing the Senate session from proceeding and sent him a letter, which read in part, "No section of the Legislative Law or the Senate Rules gives the Secretary of the Senate the power to bar access to the Senate Chamber or to impede action on pending legislation. By obstructing the orderly conduct of the Senate you are exceeding your statutory authority, violating the state constitution, state law, the Senate Rules, as well as your own oath of office."

An appeals judge Thursday issued a temporary restraining order blocking Espada from acting as Senate president, and McNamara said Friday that the order was valid.

As a result, Smith is still technically the majority leader and president pro tempore, and the new coalition government, made up of all 30 Republicans and headed by Espada, cannot gavel in the legislative session.

Only the president pro tempore can legally call a legislative session to order.

"[Smith] was never vacated from the office. You can't have two people in one office, and he had it first," said Andrew Celli, Smith's attorney.

The coup plotters counter that the week's actions were all legal, and that the now coalition needs to gavel in the Senate.

"[The judge is] taking up our motion, we're going to get oral argument Monday and as as you heard the judge said, he's going to get us a quick decision," said John Ciampoli, a lawyer for the new coalition.

"No matter what a judge says we need to vote the people's business," said State Senator Dean Skelos.

"Right now there's only one president of the Senate, and that's myself," said Smith.

In addition to Hiram Monserrate and Pedro Espada Jr., the two Democrats who joined in Smith's ouster, Democratic State Senator Eric Dilan said Friday that he would be open to a Democratic majority that did not include Smith as the majority leader.

"If we can get 32 members together, whoever we can put as a consensus to run the Senate, that's the person that I would support," he said.

Smith came face to face with Monserrate Friday at a city event for the Puerto Rican Day Parade. At one point, they were seen shaking hands.

Earlier Thursday, the coalition of Republicans and two dissident Democrats fought through a crowd of protestors to open the doors of the Senate chamber. All but two Senate Democrats boycotted the meeting and the Democratic conference locked away bills and withheld the official stenographer needed to conduct business.

Monserrate refused to vote for any bill, and walked out of the chamber, saying he was going to work to bring more Democrats into the fold.

Espada left Albany Thursday to file a police report, claiming his home in Mamaroneck was burglarized on Tuesday afternoon and that whoever broke into his home ransacked his office but left other items untouched.

Espada has been accused of breaking residency requirements by living in Westchester instead of his northwest Bronx district.