Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Staton graduated from Lindbergh High School (St. Louis, Missouri), earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1983 from William Jewell College and obtained a Juris Doctor in 1986 from Harvard Law School [REF].
From 1986 until 1987, Staton was a law clerk for Judge John R. Gibson on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit [REF].