Dorris Grabney Brent Spiner Dorris Grabney is the prosecuting lawyer in the case of Mississippi vs. Daniel Ponder, concerning the untimely death of Miss Bonnie Dee Peacock. In the transition from book to film, the character's last name changed from Gladney to Grabney. His appearance in this period drama marks a departure for Brent Spiner, known around the world as the compassionate android Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation, a role he has also played in three Star Trek motion pictures. A native of Houston, Texas, Spiner's other film credits include Independence Day and Woody Allen's Stardust Memories. Spiner has also starred on Broadway in a number of musicals, including 1776, Big River, and Sunday in the Park with George. In Welty's words: Uncle Daniel spoke to the Peacocks, but then I saw his face light up, like it only does for a newcomer in his life. And in sailed that lawyer, Dorris R. Gladney. Long, black, buzzardy coat, black suspenders, beaky nose, and on his little finger, a diamond bigger than mine, but not half as expensive. Walked too low, and got up and sat down too fast, like all the Gladneys. We all know people who're in a terrible hurry about something! And I understand Mr. Gladney has been peppered with buckshot on several occasions in the course of his career -- shows you what kind of people he's thrown in with. He rushed up and down the room several times, to show he'd come, and patted the little Peacocks on the head, but they didn't smile an inch. The Ponder Heart, chapter 5