Why Trump can’t escape his appellate bond dilemma

The two recent verdicts against former President Donald Trump — one in federal court and the other in New York state court — have thrust an esoteric area of law into the spotlight: appellate bonds. There are two main questions: Can Trump raise the cash necessary to allow him time to appeal the verdicts while staving off enforcement? And how can the winning plaintiffs collect on their judgments?

Trump has secured a bond in the federal case won by journalist E. Jean Car...