The Obama administration has named a new acting head for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Vanita Gupta will take up the position after serving as legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union, where she developed a reputation as a champion of human rights. Gupta will be appointed temporarily and formally nominated by the end of the year. She was tapped to replace President Obama’s initial choice, Debo Adegbile, who was forced to withdraw earlier this year. The Senate rejected Adegbile following a fight that focused almost solely on his role as part of an NAACP Legal Defense Fund team that successfully argued a trial judge’s jury instructions violated the rights of journalist and former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal in his conviction for the killing of a Philadelphia police officer.