It can happen, it doesn't happen often but there is provision in the law.. the burden is on the prosecution to convince the magistrate that there is sufficient reasons for a trial, and should the prosecution fail to do this, they can have another go at it, but it takes time, and requires new submissions.
( just for peripheral info )
Once the prosecution decides to go to trial, they face the first public check in the prosecution process which is the preliminary or committal hearing. This hearing is held to review the evidence against the accused and to satisfy a magistrate that there is a sufficient case to go for trial. This is similar to the Grand Jury part of the proceedings in the United States. There only needs to be a prima facie case at this stage. ‘Prima facie’ means ‘on the face of it’ or ‘at the first examination of it’, which means that there must appear to be sufficient evidence to provide a reasonable prospect of securing a conviction. It will not be known at this stage whether any of the evidence will be ruled inadmissible at the trial, whether further evidence will come to light in the meantime, or whether some of the evidence will be eliminated by cross-examination during the trial. Sometimes committal proceedings are handled in written form and involve an exchange of the relevant statements and reports (called a ‘hand-up’ committal). Alternatively, witnesses can be required to attend for oral examination as in a trial. The oral form of committal proceedings takes longer and either side can request it. It gives the lawyers a chance to test the witnesses in the absence of a jury. They can get the measure of a witness and assess whether they are likely to be convincing before a jury. The main focus for the magistrate is to say whether the evidence presented at that time would be sufficient to secure a conviction if it proves to be both admissible and convincing.
