WHAT HAPPENED TO PROBABLE CAUSE?

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 8, 1992                   TAG: 9201080314
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short
WHAT HAPPENED TO PROBABLE CAUSE?
RECENTLY, I was in a local video store and noticed, on the monitor, a film being shown. This was not a movie.
After inquiring with the salesperson, I was told it was a tape a state trooper had made from the dashboard of his vehicle. He had asked the store to make a copy of the video for him.
The video showed the trooper arresting numerous motorists for speeding, and subsequently asking to search their cars. In one instance, the driver questioned the trooper's authority to search. The trooper said he had a document authorizing a search whenever he made a citation for any infraction.
My question is: Where rests this authority, and how does it conform with the Bill of Rights, or the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States?
That amendment, which I do not recall voting to repeal, states:
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
Have I missed something?
TOM OXENDINE
LEXINGTON

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB