In addition to the bias squad, Captain Lavin called in the department's cult expert.

In 2005, the Associated Press characterized Ofshe as a "cult expert", when commenting on the murder trial of Marcus Wesson.

"The defendants will call their cult experts to say the LaRouche organization was a cult," Mr. Leiser wrote.

After cult experts described his other activities, The Times ran a corrective article including that information.

Cited as "cult expert"

The publication titled Groenveld a "cult specialist'" and two other Australian publications titled her a "cult expert."

"There's very little substance to their program, but that doesn't necessarily make them a cult," said Cynthia Kisser, a cult expert.

Some of the terrorism experts and cult experts came from their discipline, but the psychologists' main attraction for the afternoon believe-it-or-nots lies in sexier areas.

Cox's attorneys had requested to view the video in order to determine if material contained in the tape could support expert witness testimony from cult experts.

Bob Waldrep, another cult expert, ran into them around the same time in Birmingham, Ala., when they held a meeting there.