18 U.S.C. § 924(e) applies to a defendant who violates 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) and has “three previous convictions ... for a violent felony or a serious drug offense, or both.” 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1). To qualify as a “violent felony,” the conviction at issue must be “punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.” Id. § 924(e)(2)(B). Spanger argues that his prior state convictions for breaking and entering were not punishable by terms of imprisonment exceeding one year. See N.C. Gen.Stat. § 15A-1340.17(c)-(d) (2009) (setting forth minimum and maximum sentences applicable under the North Carolina Structured Sentencing Act). When Spanger raised this argument in the district court, it was foreclosed by our panel decisions in United States v. Simmons, 635 F.3d 140, 146 (4th Cir.2011) (<HOLDING>), and United States v. Harp, 406 F.3d 242, 246
holding that determination of whether prior conviction was punishable by term of imprisonment exceeding one year is governed by law in effect on date of conviction holding that the maximum possible sentence provided by law for conviction of the offense charged is the most important consequence of the plea internal quotation marks omitted holding that to determine whether a north carolina conviction for a crime is punishable by a prison term exceeding one year a court is to consider the maximum aggravated sentence that could be imposed for that crime upon a defendant with the worst possible criminal history internal quotation marks and emphasis omitted holding that a north carolina offense may not be classified as a felony based on the maximum aggravated sentence that could be imposed upon a repeat offender if the individual defendant was not eligible for such a sentence holding that a prior north carolina conviction was for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year if any defendant charged with that crime could receive a sentence of more than one year