Darius McCrary was seen for the first time Wednesday since his arrest last week and he chose to represent himself during a court hearing, but the only problem was ... he didn't appear to know what the f*** was going on.

As TMZ previously reported, McCrary was arrested October 5 on a warrant out of Michigan stemming from a missed court appearance related to his failure to pay child support. Oakland County Jail

At his arraignment today in a San Diego courtroom, the "Family Matters" alum chose to forego a lawyer, opting to represent himself ... which was a huge mistake.

Near the beginning of the hearing ... Darius addressed the court, stating, "I’d like to say I’m here on special appearance," which confused the hell out of the judge, who asked him, "Especially appearing for whom?"

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