Those of us who practice criminal law are well aware of the general rules that interlocutory orders in criminal cases are not immediately appealable and that a judgment becomes final in a criminal case only after the imposition of a sentence. There are exceptions as when it comes to the review of a defendant's bail, but they are few and far between. In fact, there is an issue as to whether the Supreme Court, which recently denied Trump’s request to stay sentencing, even had jurisdiction to decide that issue.

So, when Trump asked for his sentencing in his hush money case to be postponed, he was certainly trying to avoid being labeled a convicted felon, but he was also trying to keep his conviction from being “final.” It’s not entirely clear why he wanted that because until sentencing, which creates the final judgment from which he can appeal, Trump cannot “officially” challenge the conviction on the theory that he was immune from prosecution.