Roslyn O. Silver (born February 28, 1946) is a senior United States district judge of the

United States District Court for the District of Arizona The United States District Court for the District of Arizona (in case citations, D. Ariz.) is the U.S. district court that covers the state of Arizona. It is under the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The District was est ...

. She served as Chief Judge for the district from 2011 to 2013.

Early life and education

She was born Roslyn E. Olson in

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

in 1946. She received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree from the

University of California at Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

in 1968 and a Juris Doctor from

Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law The Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (ASU Law) is one of the professional graduate schools at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Arizona. The school is located in the Beus Center for Law and Society on ASU's downtown Phoenix campus. The law ...

at Arizona State University in 1971.

Legal career

She was a law clerk for Justice Lorna Lockwood of the

Supreme Court of Arizona The Arizona Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Arizona. Sitting in the Supreme Court building in downtown Phoenix, the court consists of a chief justice, a vice chief justice, and five associate justices. Each justice ...

from 1971 to 1972. She was in private practice in Phoenix from 1972 to 1974. Silver then served as an adviser and litigator for the Education Division of the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation ( nv, Naabeehó Bináhásdzo), also known as Navajoland, is a Native American reservation in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah; at roughly , the ...

Native American Rights Fund The Native American Rights Fund (NARF) is a non-profit organization that uses existing laws and treaties to ensure that U.S. state governments and the U.S. federal government live up to their legal obligations. NARF also "provides legal representa ...

from 1974 to 1976. She was an in house labor counsel for the

Greyhound Corporation Viad Corp provides experiential leisure travel and face-to-face events in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United Arab Emirates via two divsions: GES and Pursuit. Pursuit (formed in 2017) includes travel attractio ...

from 1976 to 1978. Silver returned to private practice in Phoenix in 1978 before becoming a trial attorney for the Equal Opportunity Commission in 1979. She was an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Arizona from 1980 to 1984. Silver became an assistant Arizona attorney general in 1984 and served until she returned to the United States Attorney's office in 1986. In 1989, she was promoted to Chief of the criminal division.

Federal judicial service

Silver was nominated by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

on September 14, 1994, to a seat on the

vacated by Earl H. Carroll. She was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on October 7, 1994, and received her commission on October 11, 1994. She took

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on September 3, 2013. Silver became Chief Judge in January 2011 after the shooting death of previous Chief Judge

John Roll John McCarthy Roll (February 8, 1947 – January 8, 2011) was a United States district judge who served on the United States District Court for the District of Arizona from 1991 until his murder in 2011, and as chief judge of that court from 2 ...

during the 2011 assassination attempt of Congresswoman

Gabby Giffords Gabrielle Dee Giffords (born June 8, 1970) is an American retired politician and gun control advocate who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing from January 2007 until January 2012, when she resigned ...

, serving until she took senior status. She was appointed to the court under the name of Roslyn O. Moore-Silver.

Awards and recognition

In 2013 Judge Silver was recognized, for outstanding service to Veterans’ Program, Arizona Army National Guard, Arizona Coalition for Military Families, and Arizona Veterans Magazine, and for outstanding achievement, Federal Bar Association, Phoenix ChapterUnited States Courts for the Ninth Circuit 2013 Annual Report

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Silver, Roslyn O. 1946 births Living people Assistant United States Attorneys Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona Lawyers from Phoenix, Arizona Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law alumni United States district court judges appointed by Bill Clinton University of California, Santa Barbara alumni 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges 20th-century American women judges 21st-century American women judges