Suspect indicates he'll fight US return

Neil Entwistle indicated in a British court yesterday that he plans to fight his extradition to the United States on murder charges, triggering a legal battle that could delay his return to Massachusetts for as long as a year, according to extradition specialists in England.

''In my experience, he could string it out between nine and 12 months easily," said Paul Garlick, a London lawyer who specializes in extradition and international criminal cases.

''I've done a huge number of cases for the US government, and rarely have I seen a fugitive actually handed over to your sheriffs in under a year, unless they consent," he said in a phone interview.

The extradition treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom includes some requirements that are generally easy for prosecutors to prove: that the person has been charged with an extraditable crime and that the person is, indeed, the one who has been charged.

However, the treaty also requires a magistrate to decide whether extradition is compatible with a person's rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. It is this provision, lawyers say, that brings the most challenges and that can lead to months of hearings and appeals.

The death penalty, which would stop extradition on rights grounds, is not an issue in this case, because Massachusetts doesn't have capital punishment.

Still, lawyers said Entwistle, a British subject, may argue that he would not get a fair trial if he is sent back to Massachusetts. He could also argue that his rights would be violated in the United States or that he would be subject to inhumane or degrading treatment in jail, either while awaiting trial or if he is convicted.

''This is a very new and developing field, and the fugitive is entitled to raise all sorts of things," Garlick said.

Justin Knowles, another London lawyer who specializes in extradition cases, said the argument that a person would not get a fair trial ''tends to be the primary angle of attack" in extradition cases involving the United States.

''Very frequently terrorist suspects argue they won't be treated fairly in the US system," Knowles said by phone.

Still, he pointed out that while the concern about a fair trial may resonate in terrorism cases, it is unclear how it will play out in a case involving a man charged with killing his wife and child.

Knowles said Entwistle would essentially have to prove that his treatment in Massachusetts would be ''markedly inferior" to what it would be in Britain if he faced the same charges there.

At the request of Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley, the US Department of Justice worked through diplomatic channels to help get a provisional arrest warrant for Entwistle.

Drew Wade, a Justice Department spokesman, would not comment directly on Entwistle's case yesterday, but said by telephone that the department ''will make every reasonable effort to bring persons charged and wanted in the United States to justice."

Entwistle, who was ordered held in custody by a magistrate after he did not consent to return to Massachusetts, is due in court today for a bail hearing in which he is expected to formally say whether he plans to fight extradition.

If he fights extradition, the magistrate will hold hearings, at which evidence would be presented by the Crown Prosecution Team, which represents the United States, and Entwistle's lawyers.

If a magistrate rules that Entwistle should be sent to the United States for trial, the Home Secretary, who oversees police, has two months to decide whether to order his extradition. If Entwistle loses his attempt to remain in Britain, then he can take his case to an appeals court.

Shelley Murphy can be reached at shmurphy@globe.com.