YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - The Mahoning County Prosecutor is responding to allegations of misconduct on behalf of his office. 

An attorney for the prosecutor's office has filed a response to a petition from former Mahoning County Assistant Prosecutor Marty Desmond. 

Last month, Desmond filed a petition asking the Mahoning County Court to release Grand Jury proceedings so that he could appeal a State Personnel Review Board's decision not to accept his lawsuit against the prosecutor. 

Desmond claims that releasing the grand jury transcripts will allow him to appeal a decision made by the State Personnel Board of Review. 

According to the suit, the State Board dismissed Desmond's lawsuit regarding claims of "wrongful termination". 

Desmond alleges that he was fired after bringing to light issues with the way the prosecutor's office was handling certain indictments. 

In the latest filing, Desmond says that on several accounts, which are detailed out, the prosecutors compelled grand juries to indict witnesses in cases on criminal charges, even though there was no evidence to support the indictment. 

A response filed Thursday on behalf of Prosecutor Paul Gains argues that Desmond is using the wrong court. 

The filing states that a local court does not have the jurisdiction to do that. 

In addition, Gains' attorneys argue that grand jury proceedings can only be released if they would impact currently on-going judicial proceedings. 

Gains' response argues that a potential appeal and a "discovery tool" are improperly filed and should be dismissed. 

Desmond's initial filing claims that  Desmond says that on several accounts, which are detailed out, the prosecutors compelled grand juries to indict witnesses in cases on criminal charges, even though there was no evidence to support the indictment. 

However, Gains' filing says that in at least two of those cases, the charges were brought about by the investigators. 

In addition, Gains' attorneys say that the sheer number of how few claims Desmond was able to level against Gains proves that there is no "pattern of misconduct". 

Gains has asked that Demsond's petition be dismissed completely. 

A panel of judges is expected to rule on the matter next week.