In this file photo from March 2014, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt speaks at the Statehouse in Topeka.

TOPEKA — Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has asked the state Supreme Court to revisit conflicting rulings it issued simultaneously last month dealing with the sex offender registry.

The state argued in a motion filed Friday that the five decisions reaching contrary results has caused unnecessary confusion.

The Supreme Court ruled in the leading case that lifetime registration for sex offenders does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment. That conflicts with the holdings in four similar sex registry cases released the same day.

In those separate cases, the justices found that the requirement constituted punishment and therefore a 2011 amendment to the law couldn’t be applied retroactively.

The conflicting opinions ensued when the latest case was decided after the vacancy on the high court was filed by Justice Caleb Stegall.