She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1968 and a Juris Doctor from Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University in 1971.

[2] Silver was a law clerk for Justice Lorna Lockwood of the Supreme Court of Arizona from 1971 to 1972.

Silver then served as an adviser and litigator for the Education Division of the Navajo Nation's Native American Rights Fund from 1974 to 1976.

Silver returned to private practice in Phoenix in 1978 before becoming a trial attorney for the Equal Opportunity Commission in 1979.

Silver became Chief Judge in January 2011 after the shooting death of previous Chief Judge John Roll during the 2011 assassination attempt of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, serving until she took senior status.