Born in Las Vegas, Nevada, Navarro earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1989 from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and a Juris Doctor from the Arizona State University College of Law (now the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law) in 1992.

[1] In 1991, Navarro worked as a legal extern for United States District Judge Philip Martin Pro.

[1][2] On September 11, 2009, Senator Harry Reid contacted Navarro to inquire about her interest in serving on the federal bench.

On December 24, 2009, Obama formally nominated Navarro to the vacancy, which was created by the resignation of Judge Brian Sandoval.

Navarro found that both prosecutors and the FBI had failed to turn over exculpatory evidence to the defense, and had therefore violated a "universal sense of justice" to an extent that nothing short of outright dismissal was appropriate.