Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, in an effort to temper his support for abortion rights and other socially liberal stances, has been assuring conservatives that as president he would appoint "strict constructionists" to the federal bench.

But now, some prominent conservatives are saying that Giuliani's record as mayor undermines that promise. In his eight years leading New York City, they say, he appointed a number of judges who did not appear to fit the conservative mold.

Giuliani appointed or reappointed 127 municipal judges. He has cited that experience to drive home the importance he places on judicial nominations. Municipal judges sit in family court and hear criminal misdemeanor cases and hear civil court claims of less than $25,000.

"Rudy's judges were mostly liberal," said Connie Mackey a former New Yorker who serves as vice president of FRC Action, the legislative and political arm of the conservative Family Research Council. "Any pro-lifer who believes they are going to get the kind of judge out of Rudy Giuliani that we see in either Roberts or Alito is probably going to be disappointed."

Some constitutional law experts disagree with that conclusion. But there is no question that Giuliani's appointment record has drawn concern from some conservatives.

One judge approved by Giuliani, Rosalyn Richter, had been executive director of a gay-rights organization, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Another judge, Dora Irizarry, has called herself pro-choice and was later elevated to the federal bench with support from Democratic Sens. Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton. A judge reappointed by Giuliani, Sheldon Rand, was excoriated on the conservative New York Post editorial page last week for ruling that city funds could be used to pay for a sex-change operation for an indigent resident.

And Paula Hepner, a judge whom Giuliani reappointed in 1999, issued a ruling that allowed a lesbian to adopt her partner's child. She was subsequently married to another woman in a ceremony in Canada.

"The concept of 'strict constructionist' is generally used in the context of constitutional analysis and interpretation, which I have not once had to do as a family court judge in my 17 years on the bench," Hepner wrote in an e-mail. "My reappointment was based on merit and reflects, I believe, an acknowledgment by Mr. Giuliani that diversity in the judiciary is important."

The mayor's record of judicial appointments, first described last week in the Politico newspaper, has made a splash in the conservative blogging and talk radio community. "Rudy Giuliani needs to respond in detail" to questions about his judicial appointees, conservative pundit Hugh Hewitt wrote in a column during last week's meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference.

Charles Moerdler, a member of a panel that reviewed judicial candidates during Giuliani's tenure, said Giuliani's appointments were made on the basis of merit.

"I could not find any instance at all where I could find a political or ideological bias," he said.

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By TOM HAMBURGERand ADAM SCHRECK

Los Angeles Times