Brian Hickerson got called on the carpet in an L.A. courtroom for being "quite high" during a recent TMZ interview, and that was enough for the judge to deny his attempt to clear his record.

Hickerson had filed a motion to expunge his 2020 domestic violence case -- where he beat girlfriend Hayden Panettiere -- and a judge took up the motion August 13th. Hickerson and his lawyer were no shows, but the D.A. had plenty to say.

For starters, the prosecuted noted he was arrested a year ago while high at a restaurant in West Hollywood.

Then the D.A. launched into an interview Hickerson did with TMZ's Charlie Neff ... "There is a documented interview where he speaks for 15 minutes about the abuse that's been documented in his victim's best-selling book, and he makes several admissions about that."

The D.A. has an observation ... "And more significantly to his request today, he is quite high on what appears to be a stimulant, notwithstanding his lawyer's representations that he is seeking expungement because he is now sober."

And the the D.A. drops the hammer ... "He is very -- very clearly not sober," referring to his appearing on Neff's podcast.

The judge denied the petition.

As we reported, Brian's brother told TMZ when he entered the apartment where Brian and Hayden were staying and found her unresponsive, Brian administered Narcan. It's telling he had Narcan on hand.