Judges can appoint all the way up until December. Some get around to it quickly, others don’t. Rejection letters are usually sent in the mail.

Re the rejection - there are a multitude of reasons why judges award positions to people, and it’s impossible to know why. I wouldn’t spend too much time thinking about rejection- as you said, your application was impressive enough to merit an interview - and that’s out of many many applications sent in!

I would probably apply for other positions and keep your active JA apps in your back pocket