--- title: "Roslyn O. Silver | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/roslyn-o-silver" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Roslyn O. Silver U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona - State: Arizona - Role: Judge - Service status: senior - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, D. Arizona, 1994-2013 - Assistant U.S. attorney, District of Arizona, 1980-1984, 1986-1994; chief, Criminal Division, 1989-1994 - Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona (1980–1984) and later an assistant Arizona attorney general, returning to the U.S. Attorney’s office in 1986 and eventually becoming Chief of the Criminal Division in 1989 - Assistant attorney general, State of Arizona, 1984-1986 - Law clerk, Hon. Lorna Lockwood, Arizona Supreme Court, 1971-1972 - Early in her career, she clerked for Justice Lorna Lockwood of the Arizona Supreme Court from 1971 to 1972 ### Education - Arizona State University College of Law (now Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law) — J.D. (1971) - University of California, Santa Barbara in — B.A. (1968) ### Additional information - In 2026, she appointed Annette Chambers-Smith as receiver to address unconstitutional medical care in state prisons, setting the stage for reforms while managing disputes between the Arizona Department of Corrections and inmate attorneys. - She assumed senior status on September 3, 2013. - Following the assassination of Chief Judge John Roll in 2011, Silver became Chief Judge, serving until she took senior status in 2013. - Nominated by President Bill Clinton on September 14, 1994, to the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, filling the seat vacated by Earl H. Carroll. - received her commission on October 11, 1994. - Trial attorney, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 1979-1980 - Private practice, Phoenix, AZ, 1978-1979 - She held the role of in-house labor counsel for Greyhound Corporation (1976–1978) and returned to private practice before joining the Equal Opportunity Commission as a trial attorney in 1979. - Private practice, Phoenix, Arizona, 1972-1974, 1978-1979 - Began in private practice in Phoenix (1972–1974) and then worked with the Native American Rights Fund as an adviser and litigator for the Navajo Nation (1974–1976). - Advisor and litigator, Education Division, Native American Rights Fund, Navajo Nation, 1974-0076 - Private practice, Phoenix, AZ, 1972-1974 - Roslyn Elaine Olson Silver was born in 1946 in Phoenix, Arizona. - Date of birth: 1946-01-01 - Judge Silver has been involved in significant rulings, including overseeing a five-year receivership of Arizona’s state prison healthcare system. - Judge Roslyn Silver is a highly experienced federal judge with decades of service in both prosecution and judicial roles. - She has played a key role in Arizona’s legal system, including leadership during crises and oversight of major institutional reforms. - Birth place: Phoenix, AZ ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385321) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385321) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385321) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2967/roslyn-o-silver/) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/2967/roslyn-o-silver/) - [Judge Roslyn O. Silver](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1385321) - [Wikidata: Roslyn O. Silver](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2167509) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/roslyn-o-silver", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/roslyn-o-silver", "name": "Roslyn O. Silver | KnowJudges", "description": "Roslyn O. Silver, U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-07", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/roslyn-o-silver#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/roslyn-o-silver#judge", "name": "Roslyn O. 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Silver", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/roslyn-o-silver" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 122 | 0 | Not available | 0 | | 2y | 298 | 83 | 3.3 | 83 | | 5y | 750 | 492 | 4.2 | 492 | | 10y | 1360 | 1096 | 4.9 | 1096 | Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/ ## Published courtroom rules ### Shared court rules - [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-651872d6e45e0d82319ecccc) — Civil actions in United States District Courts; Rule 81 exceptions apply. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.