Drupal has a built-in tableselect element type for situations just like this, it would be a lot easier to use that instead:

$disputes = array(
  1 =&gt; array('Joe', 'Smith'),
  2 =&gt; array('Susan', 'Doe'),
  3 =&gt; array('John', 'Doe')
);

$header = array(t('First Name'), t('Last Name'));

$form['checkboxes'] = array(
  '#type' =&gt; 'tableselect',
  '#header' =&gt; $header,
  '#options' =&gt; $disputes,
  '#empty' =&gt; 'No users were found.'
);


The above code produces this table:



In your form submit function you can get the selected user ids with code like this:

$selected_uids = array_filter($form_state['values']['checkboxes']);


EDIT

The above is for Drupal 7, if you're using Drupal 6 you can use the same code but you need to install the Elements module.

Setting up form table checkboxes
In the first 20 minutes of this video, Susskind derives the continuity equation for charge conservation:

$$\dot{\rho}+\nabla\cdot\vec{J}=0$$

(Where $\vec{J}=\frac{\partial\dot{q}^m}{\partial A^m} \:; \:\:\:m=1,2,3 \:\:$ is the current density, or as Susskind calls it, just the current.)

(And $m=1,2,3$ indexes the x,y,z space components)

And then shows that this continuity equation can be written more compactly as the divergence of a current four-vector:

$$\dot{\rho}+\nabla\cdot\vec{J}=\partial_{\mu}\mathcal{J}^{\mu}=0\:; \:\:\:\mu=0,1,2,3 \:\:$$

(Where $\mu=0$ indexes the time component.  For the rest of this post, a curly letter indicates a four vector, whereas a non-curly letter with an arrow over it indicates an ordinary vector with three space components.)

That is, he demonstrates that $\dot{\rho}$ can be thought of as the time component of the divergence of the current.

My main question is: if $\rho$ is a time component (i.e. differentiates w.r.t. to time), then doesn't Gauss' Law also have a more compact expression as the divergence of an Energy four-vector?  Here is the reasoning:

When the continuity equation is derived by taking the divergence of Ampere's Law we see that $\nabla\cdot \dot{E}=\dot{\rho}$.  Well, if $\rho$ is a time component, then this must mean that $\dot{E}=\rho$.  From this it follows that Gauss' Law can be written as the divergence of the Energy four-vector:

$$\nabla\cdot \vec{E}=\rho \:;\:\:\: \vec{E}=(E^1,E^2,E^3)\rightarrow \partial_{\mu}\mathcal{E}^{\mu}=0\:; \:\:\:\mu=0,1,2,3 \:\:$$

And as a corollary does it follow that the divergence of the current four-vector equals the Laplacian of the Energy four-vector?

$$\partial_{\mu}^2\mathcal{E}^{\mu}=\partial_{\mu}\mathcal{J}^{\mu}$$

Reasoning: If $\rho$ is a time component, then the divergence of Gauss' Law gives:

$$\nabla^2\vec{E}=\dot{\rho}$$

...which, since $\dot{E}=\mathcal{E}^{0}=\rho$, can also be written

$$\partial_{\mu}^2\mathcal{E}^{\mu}=0$$

But by Susskind's compact expression of the continuity equation we know that $\partial_{\mu}\mathcal{J}^{\mu}=0$.  Therefore the two can be equated: $\partial_{\mu}^2\mathcal{E}^{\mu}=\partial_{\mu}\mathcal{J}^{\mu}$.

And then finally, if this corollary is true, then doesn't it also follow that Ampere's Law has a more compact expression as:

$$\partial_{\mu}\mathcal{E}^{\mu}=\nabla\times\vec{B}$$

Reasoning: By integrating both sides of the corollary you get:

$$\partial_{\mu}\mathcal{E}^{\mu}=\mathcal{J}^{\mu}$$

But the RHS of this can also be written:

$$\mathcal{J}^{\mu}=\rho+\vec{J}$$

...which, since $\rho=\dot{E}$, is also:

$$\mathcal{J}^{\mu}=\dot{E}+\vec{J}$$

But the RHS of this is just Ampere's Law ($\nabla\times\vec{B}=\dot{E}+\vec{J}$).  Therefore Ampere's Law has the following compact expression in terms of the divergence of the energy four-vector:

$$\partial_{\mu}\mathcal{E}^{\mu}=\nabla\times\vec{B}$$

From which a desirable property (I think) follows automatically--that the magnetic field is irrotational ($\nabla\times \vec{B}=0 $)--since the compact expression for Gauss' Law is $\partial_{\mu}\mathcal{E}^{\mu}=0$.
