To reiterate a couple points already made above - your issue is likely a combination of things, likely all humidity related. Some of the big cigar retailers, CI/CBID, especially, have a reputation for storing their cigars at higher humidity than most of us would likely prefer for our ready-issue humis. So, it is always a good idea to let new cigar sit for at least a couple weeks in your storage, preferably more. That's even more important lately, IMO, since I've gotten some that are extraordinarily dry, lately, too. You just have no way of knowing how they were stored. Cigars don't acclimate or settle quickly, either. If there's been a recent or sudden change in humidity, the binder/filler and wrapper aren't in synch as far as moisture content and the burn will be unreliable. Even a cigar that is stable throughout can experience burn problems if you smoke it in a very humid or very dry environment.
I don't know anything about the Judge, but I do smoke a box of RomaCraft per month and I can tell you that my opinion is that the QC may have slipped slightly in recent shipments. They are still an amazing cigar for the price, but the availability seems to have skyrocketed, and I wouldn't be surprised if vastly increased production has led to less than perfect rolls.
