Silver was nominated by President Bill Clinton on September 14 , 1994 , to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Arizona vacated by Earl H. Carroll . She was confirmed by the United States Senate on October 7 , 1994 , and received her commission on October 11 , 1994 . She took senior status on September 3 , 2013 . Silver became Chief Judge in January 2011 after the shooting death of previous Chief Judge John Roll during the 2011 assassination attempt of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords , serving until she took senior status . She was appointed to the court under the name of '' ' Roslyn O. Moore-Silver '' '
2011 assassination attempt
2011 Tucson shooting
Roslyn O. Silver